Airbus Helicopters has awarded a contract to Mahindra Aerostructures to make airframe parts for the AS565 MBe Panther. These parts will be produced at the Mahindra facility in Bengaluru. They will be shipped directly to the Airbus Helicopter production line in Marignane, France, where they will be integrated with the rest of the airframe assembly and will form a critical part of the Panthers sold worldwide.

The contract positions Mahindra Aerostructures as the first Indian company to receive a direct manufacturing contract from Airbus Helicopters as a Tier-I supplier. Mahindra Aerostructures will gradually emerge as the global single source supplier to Airbus Helicopters for these parts. This work package is the first amongst a series of work packages which would embed Mahindra Group firmly in the Airbus Helicopters’ global supply chain and bind the two companies in a long-term ‘Make in India’ partnership.

“We are playing an active role in the development of a helicopter-focused Indian industrial ecosystem, and are embedding Indian suppliers into our global supply chain,” said Fabrice Cagnat, Director - Make in India, Airbus Helicopters. “The contract will allow us to qualify Mahindra Aerostructures as a Tier-I supplier, establish a manufacturing relationship with them on the Panther, and also lay the ground work for a rapid acceleration in terms of industrialising production in India, in case we are selected for the Naval Utility Helicopter programme,” he added.

“We believe this manufacturing relationship will allow us to demonstrate the quality and competitiveness of Mahindra Aerostructures to Airbus Helicopters. We are already committed to become a trusted partner and supplier to the Airbus Group for airframe parts and assemblies. This contract with Airbus Helicopters signals our further commitment to work with them to develop a robust Indian ecosystem for both design and build capabilities in aerospace,” said Arvind Mehra, Executive Director & CEO, Mahindra Aerospace.