Tata, Airbus to manufacture helicopters

India’s Tata group and France’s Airbus have signed an agreement to manufacture civilian helicopters together, India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Friday.

The agreement was signed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s ongoing state visit to India, he said.

Tata and Airbus are already cooperating to make the C-295 transport aircraft in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.

“Industrial partnership (signed) between Tata and Airbus helicopters for production of H125 helicopters with a significant indigenous and localisation component,” Kwatra said at a media briefing on Friday. Tata and Airbus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Further cooperation in the defence sector was also discussed during Macron’s state visit, officials said, including the possibility of French engine maker Safran assisting in manufacture of fighter jet engines in India.

France is already India’s second largest arms supplier and the South Asian nation has relied on its fighter jets for four decades now.

“Safran is fully willing to do it with a 100% transfer of technology in design, development, certification, production and so on,” India Ambassador to France Jawed Ashraf said, adding that discussions will continue on the matter. France, both prior to and during Macron’s visit, also raised the issue of New Delhi-based French journalist Vanessa Dougnac being served a notice by the Indian government regarding possible cancellation of her visa, Kwatra said.

The government termed her work “malicious” and said it may “provoke disorder and disturb peace”, according to local media reports. Dougnac denied all the allegations in a statement released on Wednesday.  Meanwhile, Ivory Coast’s national carrier Air Cote d’Ivoire plans to acquire five Airbus planes this year to expand its fleet and begin to operate long-haul flights, managing director Laurent Loukou said on Thursday.

Agencies