Parts for 'Albatross' amphibious aircraft to be made in India; $125mn investment expected
Albatross
Hawking Defence Services(HDS), an Indian defence and aerospace firm inked a procurement cum partnership agreement with Australia-based Amphibian Aerospace Industries (AAI), the manufacturers of the 'Albatross' amphibious aircraft.
The 'Albatross' is a 28- seater Amphibious Aircraft capable of landing and taking off from land, water, and snow. The agreement includes the confirmation of procurement of a single aircraft by Hawking Defence Services.
The 'Albatross' twin-engine seaplane was originally used by the US Navy and Coast Guard for maritime search and rescue operations in the 1960s. The new variant of this aircraft with modern engines and avionics is designated as 'G-111T Albatross' and is manufactured in Australia's Northern territory.
"We have plans to establish a unit in Tamil Nadu to manufacture aircraft components and MRO services for the Amphibious Aircraft. We are looking at an investment of approximately Rs. 1,000 crores in the next five years. Our aviation arm is expected to create around 850 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs too,” said Mr Vijayanarayanan Rapalli, Chairman, of Hawking Defence.
According to officials of Amphibian Aerospace Industries, they will be introducing their best-selling 'Albatross' aircraft in India and expect it to be a game-changer, given India's vast coastline. "Our amphibious aircraft can be used in any kind of terrain and weather and will add great value to India’s Civilian and Defence sectors,” said Khoa Trong, Chairman of Amphibian Aerospace Industries.
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The MoU signing between the Indian and Australian companies was in the presence of Mr David Eggleston, Deputy Consul General, Australia, Mr Adil Mohamed, Project Director- Australia India Business Exchange and officials from both companies.
AAI was established as the manufacturing and product development arm of the Australian-owned Amphibian Aircraft group of companies. The Northern Territory Government, of Australia is also a shareholder in AAI. AAI is the holder of the US Federal Aviation Administration "Type Certificate" for the HU-16 and G-111 Albatross amphibious aircraft.
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