Airbus to showcase its 'Make in India' capabilities at Defence Expo 2018

From cutting-edge, multirole helicopters to proven military transport aircraft, Airbus will exhibit its wide-ranging defence capabilities at DefExpo 2018 beginning April 11.

The product portfolio, which reflects the company's offerings and its willingness to contribute to a self-sustaining defence industry in India, will include scale models of the state-of-the-art twin-engine H225M helicopter as well as the all-weather medium rotorcraft AS565 MBe from the Panther family.

Visitors to the Airbus booth in Hall 8, Stand 8.2.9 can also learn about the combat-proven A330 MRTT, the only new generation aerial refueller in service today. Also on display will be a scale model of the C295 military transport aircraft.

"Airbus has been a trusted partner to the Indian armed forces for more than 50 years. With our focus on 'Make in India' we plan to develop a self-sustainable defence industrial ecosystem that will cater to the needs of India and, eventually, the armed forces around the world," said Pierre de Bausset, President and Managing Director, Airbus India. "We are excited about DefExpo 2018 and look forward to engaging with our partners and customers." Many of the Airbus products at DefExpo 2018 directly align with the show's motto: 'India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub'. As part of the defence ministry's Avro replacement programme, Airbus has offered to support Tata Advanced Systems in setting up a final assembly line for the C295 transport aircraft in India.

Airbus has teamed up with Mahindra Defence and is proposing both the AS565MBe Panther and the H135M under the Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) and the H225M under the Naval Multi Role Helicopters (NMRH) programmes, all with substantial Transfers of Technology and indigenisation compliant with 'Make in India' objectives. Additionally, there will be a model of VSR700 on display at the Airbus booth. The VSR700 is Airbus Helicopters' light military rotary-wing tactical unmanned aerial system, based on the Cabri G2 from Hélicoptères Guimbal, which is designed to survey and assess targets in a given zone with high performance day/night cameras and maritime radar. With its compact size and low logistical footprint, it provides navies with additional surveillance capabilities in complement to traditional helicopter operations.