The announcement comes on the second and final day of French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was guest of honor at France's July 14th military parade in 2023. The agreement covers an industrial partnership between Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), a subsidiary of Tata, and Airbus Helicopters for the production of H125 helicopters, said Vinay Kwatra at a press briefing. This will be the first "Made in India" helicopter final assembly line in the private sector. Production is scheduled to start in 2026, according to an Airbus press release.

The H125 helicopter, which can carry up to six people, is a light, single-engine aircraft, which Airbus points out is the only one to have landed on Everest. Airbus and Tata already jointly produce the C295, a tactical military cargo aircraft, in Gujarat, Narendra Modi's home state.

Emmanuel Macron's highly ceremonial visit was aimed in particular at strengthening bilateral relations in the armaments sector. The French Safran group, with long-standing ties to India's aerospace and defense industry, is in talks to manufacture fighter jet engines in India, with a "100%" transfer of technology, according to authorized Indian sources.

France is India's second-largest arms supplier, and for decades has been one of its oldest and closest partners in Europe. It was the only Western country not to impose sanctions on India following nuclear tests in 1998. Prior to Modi's visit to Paris, the Indian government had given the green light in principle to the purchase of 26 Rafales from Dassault Aviation and to the joint production of three Scorpene-class submarines. These contracts have yet to be finalized, the Elysée Palace was told ahead of the head of state's visit.

India has relied on French fighter aircraft since acquiring Mirage fighters in the 1980s. These aircraft still form two flotillas within the Indian Air Force. "In recent years, we have sealed an absolutely unprecedented alliance in terms of defense," said Emmanuel Macron on Friday in a speech to the French community in New Delhi. "We will continue to consolidate it, with the aim of meeting the challenge of 'Made in India', and to do so by serenely exchanging technologies and making India a production hub for all our partnerships in the region," added the French head of state.

Earlier in the day, Emmanuel Macron was guest of honor at the Republic Day military parade in New Delhi. The Indian Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950. India had initially hoped to have US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as guests of honor. These four countries form the "Quad" group, whose summit India had hoped to organize this week. This project was abandoned due to Joe Biden's unavailability.

(Reported by Krishn Kaushik in New Delhi and Aditi Shah; written by Sakshi Dayal; Bertrand Boucey and Sophie Louet, edited by Nicolas Delame)