The French aircraft manufacturer Airbus has listed eight potential site locations for setting up its final assembly line for the H125 helicopters in India. The ground-breaking ceremony for the facility is expected later this year.
The facility, which will be the fourth Final Assembly Line (FAL) for the single engine H125, will initially produce up to 10 helicopters annually and the capacity will be ramped up depending on the market demand, Airbus officials said.
“India is the market of the future for helicopters. Presently, the market is extremely embryonic, it is very small compared to what the potential could be,” Olivier Michalon, Executive Vice President Global Business of Airbus Helicopters, said.
The Indian market regulations are a bit restrictive but the company is working to lighten them up a bit and the skies to become more open, said Michalon, reported PTI.
The focus was to provide the South Asian and Indian regions with the “Make in India solutions” to support the helicopters built, as per the report. The cost of the base model of the H125 helicopter will be nearly 3.2 million euros, reported PTI quoting an official in the know.
Apart from the H125 FAL, Airbus is also building a FAL unit for its C295 aircraft in Vadodara, Gujarat. After the FAL for the H125 helicopter is set up in India, the helicopters will go through the integration of the component assemblies, avionics and mission systems, installation of electrical harnesses, hydraulic circuits, flight controls, dynamic components, fuel system and the aircraft engine.
For Airbus, H125 is the most-sold helicopter in India as well as the South Asia region.
Airbus has projected the demand for H125 helicopters in India and neighbouring countries at 500 over the next 20 years. In India, there are about 100 Airbus helicopters, with the majority of them being H125 and 130s. There are more than 7,200 H125 helicopters flying around the world.
