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Vemagal in Karnataka’s Kolar district will be home to the final assembly line (FAL) where European aerospace major Airbus’s best-selling helicopter H125 will be manufactured in India, Airbus announced on Wednesday. The helicopter FAL–the first in the private sector in India–will be established by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), which already has an FAL for the Airbus C295 military aircraft in Gujarat’s Vadodara.
The announcement of the location of the planned H125 FAL comes over one-and-a-half years after the project was announced. The FAL, seen as a big boost to aircraft manufacturing in India, was announced on India’s Republic Day in 2024 in conjunction with the state visit of the French President Emmanuel Macron to India. Airbus and TASL had shortlisted eight potential sites for the FAL, top Airbus Helicopters officials had said in July 2024.
While the H125 is primarily a civil helicopter and the initial proposal was to build the helicopters in India for civilian applications and use, plans now also include a military version–H125M–to be offered out of the Indian factory with high levels of indigenised components and technologies. Airbus sees the H125M as an “ideal successor” to Cheetah and Chetak helicopters used by the Indian armed forces. These helicopters were a result of an industrial collaboration agreement dating back over sixty years between Airbus and government undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics.
The delivery of the first made-in-India H125 helicopter is expected in early 2027, and the FAL will serve the Indian market as well as other markets in the region.
Civil helicopter use in India lags many other countries where choppers are routinely used for a number of purposes. India’s massive population and notable economic growth make it an attractive potential market for increased civil helicopter use.
“The ‘Made in India’ H125 helicopter will help develop new civil and para-public market segments and also meet the Indian armed force’s requirement for a light multi-role helicopter, especially on the icy heights of the country’s Himalayan frontiers,” Airbus said.
“India is an ideal helicopter country. A ‘Made in India’ helicopter will help develop this market and position helicopters as an essential tool for nation-building,” said Jürgen Westermeier, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia.
“Tata Advanced Systems is proud to be the first private sector company in India to build helicopters. This will bolster both civil and defence requirements. This is our second FAL in collaboration with Airbus and further reinforces the partnership between Tata and Airbus for India. Tata Advanced Systems is well placed in the Indian aerospace sector with capability to build and deliver fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters for the nation’s requirements,” said Sukaran Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, TASL.
The India FAL will be the fourth production unit for the single-engine H125 helicopter with an initial annual production capacity of 10 helicopters, with the scope to ramp up production based on demand growth in India and the broader South Asia region, Airbus had said last year. Currently, Airbus manufactures H125 helicopters at its headquarters in Marignane (France), and in the United States (US) and Brazil.
Although much smaller, the H125 FAL in India will have the same processes and standards as the flagship facility in Marignane and helicopters produced in India will come with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification. The Made-in-India H125s are also expected to be similar in pricing to those manufactured elsewhere despite the import of key components.
In India, civil helicopters are mainly used for commercial charter operations, tourism and pilgrimages, offshore operations by the oil and gas sector, and by corporations and high net-worth individuals. Their use for para-public services, including emergency medical services, law enforcement, firefighting, and natural disaster management, in India is significantly lower than many other parts of the world, including a number of developing countries.
The multi-mission H125 helicopter is seen as highly suited for operations like emergency medical services, law enforcement, firefighting, crop spraying, and aerial works in industries like construction, apart from passenger transport and private and business aviation. One of the most popular helicopters globally, there are over 4,300 H125s flying around the world.
Airbus believes that the H125 FAL in India will not just make it competitive in terms of lead and delivery times to Indian and South Asian customers, but also address the region’s growing demand for helicopters.
As per Airbus, the projected demand for H125 class of helicopters in India and neighbouring countries—Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives—is pegged at 500 helicopters over the next 20 years, with India likely to account for a large majority of the incremental demand. Currently, the region has around 350 civil and para-public helicopters, of which around 250 are in India. Airbus Helicopters has a market share of 40 per cent in the region in civil and para-public helicopters.
