The European multinational aerospace company, Airbus will launch its first assembly line for the single-engine H 125 helicopter in India, Sunny Guglani, head of Airbus Helicopters in India and South Asia said.
“The plan is to have the first Made-in-India H125 rollout of the assembly line in 2026 that’s the plan we’re working with TATA,” Guglani told ANI.
Guglani further stated, “This Final Assembly Line (FAL) will actually produce the H125, which will already be EASA-certified quality assurance, and the airworthy assurance is being taken care of by experts from airbus helicopters that will be located at the FAL site in India.”
In January, the company announced its partnership with Tata Group to establish Final Assembly Line (FAL) for helicopters in the country.
The FAL will produce Airbus’ best-selling H125 helicopter from its civil range for India and export to some of the neighbouring countries, the company had said in January this year.
Describing the specification of H1 25 helicopters, Guglani further said that it is a benchmark single-engine helicopter for Indian and the neighbouring country’s market because of its performance in high-altitude environments.
The H1 25 is used across segments from commercial air transportation to corporate missions, VVIP missions, as well as aerial work that’s because of the performance of this helicopter, he stated.
He further stated that these helicopters can be used for special missions and other various purposes including
“It’s a very versatile helicopter; that’s why we spoke about it earlier, The different segments where it can be used in India and Nepal–if we look at these two markets, there are more than 60 H125 already flying,” he added.
Highlighting the importance of the launch, he said the final assembly line will act as a catalyst for the Indian market, bringing value to the masses of the country.
“We believe that helicopters are a big part of nation-building because they act as tools that can make a difference for the lives of the people and the FAL is an implementing step to actually catalyze the market. It also brings benefits to local customers, who will now no longer have to import this H 125 from abroad, they can pay in Indian rupees and from a regulatory point of view,” he said.
FAL, an initiative first for the country, aligns with the Government of India’s ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) programme.
Highlighting the nature of the project, he stated, “Since there is no importation involved. There will be financial benefits for operators buying this helicopter made in India. We have all kinds of missions that this H125 is being used in starting from charter operations to VIP missions and aerial work. So it’s a versatile machine and we see the demand for all these kinds of helicopters.”