Airbus HC –Mahindra Defence Announce JV For Indian Helo Goldmine

AS565 MBe naval version Panther photo Airbus HC

Friday, July 03, 2015 by Shiv Aroor - Livefist

Big development in the goldmine that is India's military helicopter requirement landscape. Airbus Helicopters and India's Mahindra Defence have announced a joint venture that will fight for the many big Indian helicopter competitions. As with most such things these days, it looks to align itself with PM Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign.

"Both companies will now get into discussions to finalize the formation of the joint venture which will act as the prime contractor for India’s military helicopter tenders including the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Helicopter, the Naval Utility Helicopter and the Naval Multirole Helicopter procurement programs. The resulting joint venture aims to become the first private Indian helicopter manufacturer under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. This will create hundreds of high-tech jobs locally and lead to a flow of cutting edge technologies to India should it be selected in the governmental helicopter tenders," a joint statement said.