Mahindra and Embraer Name Nagpur for a C-390 Assembly Line - But Only If India Picks the Aircraft
- Mahindra and Embraer named Nagpur as the proposed C-390 Millennium final assembly site on 1 October 2026, but only if the aircraft is selected.
- The plan is conditional on selection by the Government of India, an IAF order under the MTA programme and definitive agreements; no investment, timeline or supplier list has been disclosed.
- Reporting puts the MTA at 60 aircraft (12 fly-away, 48 India-built) with bids due 2 December, against a Tata-Lockheed C-130J offer; these figures come from one trade source.
- The sovereignty test is Indian supplier workshare, not the assembly line itself.
- Mahindra and Embraer named Nagpur as the proposed C-390 Millennium final assembly site on 1 October 2026, but only if the aircraft is selected.
- The plan is conditional on selection by the Government of India, an IAF order under the MTA programme and definitive agreements; no investment, timeline or supplier list has been disclosed.
- Reporting puts the MTA at 60 aircraft (12 fly-away, 48 India-built) with bids due 2 December, against a Tata-Lockheed C-130J offer; these figures come from one trade source.
- The sovereignty test is Indian supplier workshare, not the assembly line itself.
- Mahindra Group (1 Oct 2026): https://www.mahindra.com/news-room/press-release/en/mahindra-group-and-embraer-advance-plans-for-c-390-millennium-industrialization-in-india-identify-nagpur-as-the-location-for-assembly-facility-if-selected
- Migflug (1 Oct 2026): https://migflug.com/afterburner/embraer-mahindra-nagpur-c-390-assembly-line-2026/
- The Defense Post (20 Feb 2026): https://thedefensepost.com/2026/02/20/c-390-support-hub-india/amp/
The development
On 1 October 2026 Mahindra Group and Embraer said they are advancing plans to industrialise the C-390 Millennium in India and identified Nagpur as the location for a final assembly line, if the aircraft is selected. The company statement lists the intended scope as assembly, local manufacturing and system integration, supply-chain development, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and training and lifecycle support, with progressive integration of Indian aerospace companies. It is explicitly subject to selection by the Government of India, an IAF order under the MTA programme, government approvals and definitive agreements. Reporting adds that Maharashtra has already allotted land at MIHAN in Nagpur. No investment figure, plant size, production timeline or job count has been disclosed.
The contest behind it
The MTA programme is reported to cover 60 aircraft to replace the IAF's Antonov An-32 fleet, with 12 delivered fly-away and 48 built in India through a joint venture. Bids are reported due on 2 December 2026. The two contenders named are the C-390 with Mahindra and Lockheed Martin's C-130J-30 with Tata Advanced Systems, and the Airbus A400M was reported to have withdrawn in late September. These programme figures come from a single trade report and the order value was not independently confirmed, so treat them as indicative.
The dependency frame
A final assembly line is the visible end of an aircraft supply chain, not the capability itself. What decides whether this becomes sovereign industrial depth is workshare: how much structure, systems, avionics integration and tooling is made by Indian suppliers rather than shipped in as kits. The announcement says Indian aerospace firms will be integrated progressively, which names an intent but no suppliers or percentages. It also matters that the 48 India-built aircraft only exist if the government selects this bid, so the Nagpur line is a conditional commitment, not yet a plant.
The partnership is not new: an MoU dates to February 2024, a strategic cooperation agreement to October 2025 and an overhaul-capability plan to February 2026. What is new is the specific siting of final assembly.
What to watch
- The 2 December bid deadline and the IAF's selection decision.
- Named Indian suppliers and a stated workshare for structures, systems and avionics.
- Investment size, plant capacity and timeline once definitive agreements are signed.
- Whether the Tata-Lockheed C-130J offer commits comparable in-country depth, since that contrast will shape the decision.
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