India’s First Privately-Led Helicopter Manufacturing Unit to Be Established by Tata-Airbus in Karnataka.

National

In May 2025, Hyderabad (Telangana) based Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), the aerospace arm of the Tata Group, in collaboration with European aerospace giant Airbus, is set to establish India’s first privately-led helicopter Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Kolar district, Karnataka.


      - The facility will assemble the Airbus H125 helicopter, a global bestseller in the intermediate single-engine category. The plant is expected to begin operations by 2026.

      - This FAL will be the fourth such installation globally, following similar setups in France, the United States, and Brazil.

      - In its initial phase, the Kolar facility aims to produce 10 H125 helicopters annually, with potential capacity expansion to meet rising demand.

Main Point :-   (i) Airbus projects a requirement of over 500 H125-class helicopters in the Asia-Pacific region over the next 20 years.

      (ii) The Airbus H125, part of the Ecureuil family, holds nearly 80% of the global market share in its category, with over 4,300 units in service and a cumulative 38 million flight hours logged.

(iii) In addition to establishing the helicopter assembly unit in Karnataka, Tata and Airbus are jointly developing a C295 aircraft assembly facility in Vadodara, Gujarat.

          ____________________________