A ‘statement of intent’ was signed between Airbus Helicopters and Mahindra Defence to cement their Make in India partnership and to affirm their commitment to make military helicopters.
The agreement, signed in Chandigarh, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting French President François Hollande, is a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding signed last July between Mahindra Defence and Airbus Helicopters to form a joint venture to produce military helicopters in India.
Both the companies have already initiated a relationship to produce helicopter parts locally.
The joint venture would be bidding for upcoming tenders including the reconnaissance and surveillance helicopter (RSH), naval utility helicopter (NUH), and naval multirole helicopter (NMH) procurements.
Simultaneously, both sides are also evaluating potential industrial sites and are screening the existing local supply chain, and are defining initial work packages to be transferred to India, the companies said in a joint statement. The companies are proposing to set up a final assembly line in India, develop tier-1 and tier-2 suppliers and make extensive transfer of technology, with the intent to ultimately achieve 50 per cent indigenous content.