Who builds India's military transport aircraft?
India's military transport aircraft manufacturing ecosystem, mapped: 12 platforms, 52 companies, 31 supplier relationships, 21 scored import dependencies and 30 programme milestones - from the Tata-Airbus C-295 FAL at Vadodara to the IAF's legacy An-32 and Il-76 fleets. Every figure traces to a verified source: 78 of 89 sources resolved to primary documents in the August 2026 provenance audit, and anything still unverified is labelled as such.
- Tier 1 27(87%)
- Tier 2 2(6%)
- Tier 3 2(6%)
- HIGH13
- MEDIUM10
- CRITICAL6
- LOW2
- Bengaluru Aerospace Cluster12 sites · 9 companiesKarnataka · confirmed
- Hyderabad Aerospace Cluster (Adibatla)4 sites · 3 companiesTelangana · confirmed
- Belagavi Aerospace SEZ1 sites · 1 companiesKarnataka · confirmed
- Vadodara Aerospace Cluster (emerging)2 sites · 1 companiesGujarat · strong-evidence
- Nagpur Aerospace Cluster (emerging)2 sites · 2 companiesMaharashtra · indicative
- Kanpur Defence Cluster5 sites · 2 companiesUttar Pradesh · confirmed
- Mumbai-Navi Mumbai-Pune Aerospace Cluster2 sites · 2 companiesMaharashtra · confirmed
- Nasik Defence Aerospace Cluster4 sites · 1 companiesMaharashtra · confirmed
- Koraput Defence Engine Cluster4 sites · 1 companiesOdisha · confirmed
By platform, tier and dependency
Frequently asked
Who makes military transport aircraft in India?
The Atlas tracks 52 companies in India's military transport aircraft ecosystem. The two structural anchors are Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the Tata-Airbus C-295 final assembly line at Vadodara (Tata Advanced Systems Limited as Indian prime), surrounded by 31 documented supplier relationships - 27 at Tier 1.
Which transport aircraft platforms are covered?
12 platforms - C-295, C-390 Millennium, C-130J Super Hercules, An-32, Il-76MD, A400M, C-17A, Do-228, HS-748, HTT-40 and the cancelled Indo-Russian MTA - each with specifications, Indian production status, industrial partner and a 30-milestone programme timeline.
How much of the C-295 is manufactured in India?
The C-295's documented maximum localization depth is L1 (final assembly in India at Vadodara, second FAL after Seville). Structures sub-assemblies come from Indian Tier-1 suppliers, while the engine, avionics, FADEC and mission computer remain imported (L0). Across the Atlas, 28 system-level records classify localization status per platform.
What does India still import for its transport aircraft?
The Atlas scores 21 dependencies, of which 7 are CRITICAL and 9 are single-source - led by turboprop and turbofan engines (PW127G, V2500-E5, AE 2100D3, AI-20D, D-30KP), FADEC, fly-by-wire actuators, landing gear, composite prepreg and aerospace-grade titanium.
Why is the C-390 programme labelled indicative?
Source verification (Aug 2026) found no evidence of an IAF selection of the C-390 or of an Embraer-HAL MoU. Embraer's documented C-390 India partner is Mahindra Defence (MoU Feb 2024); the IAF Medium Transport Aircraft competition was still open. 92 of 257 records are labelled indicative in the UI where their sources could not be fully verified.
Where is India’s aerospace manufacturing concentrated?
9 evidence-backed clusters across 6 states, led by the Bengaluru Aerospace Cluster and the Vadodara C-295 cluster, mapped across 23 company sites.
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The rest of the Atlas: import dependencies across industries, the drone and counter-drone ecosystems, and the defence pillar map.
Every platform, company & dependency in the Atlas
Platforms (12)
- Airbus C-295
- Embraer C-390 Millennium · indicative
- Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules
- Antonov An-32 · indicative
- Airbus A400M Atlas
- Ilyushin Il-76MD
- HAL Do-228
- HAL HS-748 'Avro'
- HAL HTT-40
- Boeing C-17A Globemaster III
- Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian
- Indo-Russian MTA (Multirole Transport Aircraft) · indicative
Companies (52)
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
- Tata Advanced Systems Limited
- Tata Lockheed Martin Aero Structures Limited
- Airbus Defence and Space
- Embraer Defense & Security
- Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
- Antonov State Enterprise
- Ilyushin Aviation Complex
- Boeing Defense, Space & Security
- RUAG Aerospace
- Bharat Electronics Limited
- Dynamatic Technologies Limited
- Aequs Private Limited
- maini precision products
- CEINSYS Tech Systems
- Godrej Aerospace
- Larsen & Toubro Defence
- Mahindra Aerospace
- Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited
- Pratt & Whitney Canada
- Rolls-Royce plc / Rolls-Royce North America
- International Aero Engines
- Ivchenko-Progress SE / Motor Sich JSC
- Safran Aircraft Engines
- Europrop International
- Honeywell Aerospace
- Collins Aerospace
- Thales Group
- Elbit Systems
- No. 1 Base Repair Depot, IAF
- No. 3 Base Repair Depot, IAF
- Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification
- Aeronautical Development Agency
- National Aerospace Laboratories
- Gas Turbine Research Establishment
- Ratier-Figeac
- Safran Landing Systems
- Parker Hannifin
- Hamilton Sundstrand
- Telair International
- Dowty Propellers
- Northrop Grumman
- Toray Industries
- Moog Inc. + Liebherr-Aerospace
- Hi-Lok / Cherry Aerospace / Alcoa Fastening Systems
- Intel / AMD-Xilinx / Microsemi / TI / ST
- Aviadvigatel
- UkrOboronProm
- Air India Engineering Services Limited
- Indian Air Force
- VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation
- Mahindra Defence
Dependencies (21)
- PW127G turboprop engine (complete unit)
- Engine FADEC / Electronic Engine Control (EEC) hardware and software
- V2500-E5 turbofan engine (complete unit)
- Fly-by-wire primary flight control actuators
- AE 2100D3 turboprop engine (complete unit)
- AI-20D Series 5M turboprop engine (complete unit and spares)
- D-30KP turbofan engine (complete unit and spares)
- Aerospace-grade carbon-fibre composite prepreg
- Aerospace-grade titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo, etc.)
- Honeywell Aerospace INS (ring-laser gyro)
- Pratt & Whitney Canada APS2600-class APU
- Avionics-grade microprocessors, FPGAs, and ASICs
- Safran Landing Systems landing gear (complete system)
- Telair cargo handling system
- Ratier-Figeac 568F-5 composite propeller
- Northrop Grumman AN/APN-241 weather / terrain-following radar
- Dowty R391 composite propeller
- Parker Hannifin hydraulic system components
- Aerospace-grade fasteners (fatigue-critical, shear pins, blind fasteners)
- Airbus Topdeck mission system (mission computer, displays, FMS)
- Self-protection suite (RWR, MAWS, countermeasures)