Groundbreaking ceremony for Airbus H125 final assembly line before year-end

Ground-breaking ceremony for Airbus-Tata helicopter assembly line in India, aiming to meet growing demand in the region.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the first final assembly line for helicopters in the private sector being jointly developed by French aerospace major Airbus and Tata Group will take place before the end of this year. Eight sites have been shortlisted for the facility so far.

The Indian final assembly line for Airbus H125 helicopters will only be the third such FAL outside France’s Marignane, which is the helicopter manufacturing hub as well as headquarters of the helicopter division of Airbus. The other two H125 FALs are in Brazil and the U.S.

The Indian facility will deliver its first helicopter in 2026. It will be capable of delivering 10 helicopters annually, which is a capacity comparable to the FALs in Brazil (5 to 10 helicopters annually) and the U.S. (20 helicopters annually).

“India is the market of the future for helicopters. Our ambition is to be part of this transformation,” Olivier Michalon, Executive Vice President, Global Business, Airbus Helicopters, told a media contingent from India. Airbus forecasts that there will be a demand for 500 H125 helicopters in India and neighbouring countries over the next 20 years.

The tie-up between Airbus and Tata Aerospace Services Limited for setting up the FAL was announced in January during the two-day visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to India as Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations. This is the second jointly developed FAL for the two groups after the one for military transport aircraft C295 being set up in Vadodara.

The H125 is considered the market leader in the intermediate single-engine helicopter category, where it achieved a market share of 63% in 2022. There are around 7,200 H125s flying globally, covering various missions, including aerial work, firefighting, law enforcement, rescue, air ambulance and passenger transport.

“The H125 is our A320,” Mr. Michalon said, referring to the popular single-aisle aircraft family.