By Julie Fraysse
Bengaluru, India (AFP) Feb 17, 2026
India’s Tata Group and European aviation big Airbus opened a helicopter ultimate meeting line on Tuesday, a big step in New Delhi’s flagship “Make in India” drive.
The digital opening was made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting French President Emmanuel Macron, whereas their defence ministers Rajnath Singh and Catherine Vautrin attended the ceremony in particular person.
Situated in Vemagal within the southern state of Karnataka — close to tech-hub metropolis Bengaluru — the brand new meeting line is predicted to be operational in April.
“Our collaboration with India is a win-win state of affairs,” mentioned Jocelyn Gaudin, head of Airbus’s engineering and innovation centre in Bengaluru.
Airbus helicopters have performed a key position in India for many years, together with its Aerospatiale Alouette II, Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil, and the high-altitude workhorse Lama.
That long-standing presence entered a brand new chapter on Tuesday with the inauguration of the manufacturing unit devoted to the H125, the producer’s best-selling single-engine helicopter.
In January, the European Union and India mentioned that they had struck a “historic” commerce settlement reached after twenty years of negotiations to create a market of two billion individuals.
Underneath that settlement, which Modi dubbed “the mom of all offers”, India will get rid of tariffs on plane — a possible boon for Airbus — in addition to chopping levies to zero on most equipment.
Airbus Helicopters presence in India dates again to 1962, when it signed its first licensing settlement with Hindustan Aeronautics Restricted (HAL).
That allowed the state-owned firm to fabricate the Alouette III helicopter, identified in India because the Chetak.
In October 2024, Tata and Airbus inaugurated a army plane manufacturing unit in Gujarat’s Vadodara metropolis to provide cargo and troop-carrying C295 plane.
That came about throughout a go to by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who additionally returns to India this week, participating within the AI Impression Summit hosted by Modi in New Delhi.
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