Ahmedabad, February 3 (IANS). Adani Group company Adani Defense and Aerospace on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership with Italian company Leonardo. Under this, both the companies will together develop helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in India.
Both companies said in a joint statement, “Under this historic partnership, an integrated ecosystem will be created for helicopter manufacturing in the country. Its objective is to meet the country’s growing military demand and make India self-reliant in helicopter production.”
The statement further said that specifically targeting Leonardo’s advanced AW169M and AW109 TrekkerM helicopters to suit the requirements of the Indian Armed Forces, this collaboration will entail indigenization in a phased manner, enhance maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities and provide comprehensive pilot training.
By combining Leonardo’s world-class helicopter design and engineering expertise with Adani Defence’s end-to-end defense and aerospace expertise, this initiative advances the vision of a self-reliant India and strengthens national defense preparedness and can be expanded in the future from civil aviation to international supply chain integration.
This ecosystem will create thousands of high-skilled jobs in engineering, manufacturing, logistics and maintenance services and establish India as a competitive hub for helicopter production.
Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Defense & Aerospace, said, “This partnership with Leonardo is an important step towards a strong and future-ready helicopter ecosystem in India. By combining global excellence with our industrial momentum, we will drive synergy with sustainable value, high-skilled employment and self-reliant India to establish India as a global aerospace power.”
Ashish Rajvanshi, CEO, Adani Defense & Aerospace, said, “With the Indian Armed Forces anticipating a demand for more than 1,000 helicopters in the coming decade, this partnership realizes our vision of self-reliant manufacturing. This will accelerate indigenization, strengthen supply chains and establish India as a world-class production hub.”
Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters, said, “We are extremely pleased to partner with Adani to contribute to the vision of making India’s helicopter industry even stronger and stronger and to bring the country to the level of modern technology and operational capability that India deserves. We look forward to progressing this endeavor and leveraging our expertise to provide the best solutions.”
Earlier, last week Embraer and Adani Defense and Aerospace had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop an Integrated Regional Transport Aircraft Ecosystem in India.
Its objective is to partner in aircraft manufacturing, supply chain and aftermarket services and pilot training in the country.
–IANS
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