Adani Group partners with Embraer to set up regional aircraft manufacturing facility in India

They will also collaborate on opportunities in supply chain, aftermarket services and pilot training

New Delhi: Adani Group and Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation Embraer on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership to set up a regional aircraft manufacturing facility in India besides collaborating on opportunities in supply chain, aftermarket services and pilot training.

Officials of Adani Defence and Aerospace and Embraer, which makes commercial jets with up to 150 seats, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a function at the Ministry of Civil Aviation here. Details about the investments and the location of the proposed manufacturing facility were not disclosed.

The collaborative industrial partnership aims to establish an assembly line, followed by a phased increase in indigenisation to advance India’s Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) programme in alignment with the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative and the UDAN regional connectivity vision, the companies said.

Highlighting the manufacturing and growth potential of India, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the collaboration between the two companies can have manufacturing aircraft for the larger South Asian market. The need for regional transport aircraft has never been strong before and will help in providing solutions for many problems, he said.

Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the collaboration is not just about assembling a regional aircraft but also about progressive technology transfer, skilling, having robust supply chain as well as making India a trusted manufacturing hub for regional aircraft.

Adani Defence and Aerospace director Jeet Adani said regional aviation is the backbone of economic expansion and with initiatives like UDAN, transforming air connectivity across tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the need for an indigenous regional aviation ecosystem has become critical. "This partnership will also strengthen strategic relations between India and Brazil.

Embraer Commercial Aviation president and CEO Arjan Meijer said, "Together, we will evaluate the most viable, advanced, and efficient solutions in support of India’s RTA ambitions and their potential for implementation.”

This potential partnership will leverage Embraer’s deep engineering and aircraft manufacturing expertise alongside Adani’s aviation value-chain footprint, which includes airport infrastructure, aerospace manufacturing, MRO services, and pilot training, a statement said.

The proposed ecosystem is geared towards supporting domestic demand while generating significant direct and indirect employment across engineering, manufacturing, logistics, and support services, it said.

"Embraer has a growing footprint and long history in India, with nearly 50 Embraer aircraft and 11 aircraft types currently operating across commercial, defence, and business aviation. Embraer aircraft operated by the IAF include the Legacy 600 aircraft and the ‘Netra’ AEW&C aircraft based on the Embraer ERJ145 platform, while Star Air operates a fleet of 13 E175 and ERJ145 aircraft," it said.

"With the country’s largest MRO ecosystem and a rapidly scaling pilot training platform, Adani Defence is strengthening India’s aviation value chain end-to-end. Its diversified portfolio spans aircraft, unmanned systems, avionics, weapons, and sustainment, anchored in long-term capability development and the pursuit of national self-reliance," it added.