Modi, Macron inaugurate H125 helicopter unit in Vemagal

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron virtually inaugurated Tata Advanced Systems Limited’s Final Assembly Line of the Airbus H-125 Light Utility Helicopter in Karnataka’s Vemagal on February 17.

• It marks the first time the Indian private sector will undertake the manufacturing, integration, testing and maintenance of a sophisticated rotary-wing platform in India.

• The first ‘Made in India’ H125 is expected to be delivered early 2027, and will also be available for export across the South Asian region.

Features of H125 helicopter:

• The H125 is one of the world’s best-selling single-engine helicopters. 

• The H125 is optimised to serve as a high-altitude force multiplier across a spectrum of critical missions. 

• This versatile platform is designed to excel in tactical reconnaissance and surveillance by leveraging its low acoustic and thermal signatures. 

• Additionally, the H125M provides a decisive edge in high-altitude logistics, ensuring the delivery of vital supplies to remote frontline outposts, and serves as a rapid-response asset for search and rescue or medical evacuation operations.

• The H125 is the only helicopter in history to have landed on the summit of Mount Everest, giving it a performance ceiling that exceeds existing light utility fleets. 

• For the Indian military, which operates in some of the most challenging high-and-hot environments in the world, this performance can be a critical differentiator.

• By building the civil H125 and potentially its military variant H125M in Vemagal, Tata and Airbus are ensuring that Indian operators have immediate access to world-class technology with localised maintenance and lifecycle support, maximising helicopter availability.

• The ‘Made in India’ H125 will support the development of critical civil and para-public market segments such as emergency medical service and disaster management as well as law enforcement and regional connectivity, to bridge the last-mile for tourism and passenger transport.

• This is the second major Tata and Airbus industrial collaboration, following the C295 military transport Final Assembly Line in Vadodara, cementing a comprehensive military aerospace ecosystem in India.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)