Hyderabad: Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) on Thursday announced the delivery of the first crown and tailcone assembly for the Indian configuration of the CH-47F Chinook helicopter.
Manufactured by TASL in Hyderabad, the parts will be delivered to Boeing for final assembly of the 15 helicopters on delivery to the Indian Air Force, TASL said in a statement here.
"This delivery is another significant step in our journey to increase defence capability and manufacturing capacity out of India with our strategic partners," said Pratyush Kumar, President of Boeing India.
He said Tata Advanced Systems has demonstrated its ability to deliver high-quality components to the CH-47 Chinook programme on schedule, which in turn "helps Boeing meet commitments to our customers".
"We are clearly invested in leveraging the full potential of capability that exists in India to continue delivering greater value for less cost to our US and international customers," he added.
Sukaran Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, TASL, said undertaking the responsibility of complete manufacture and assembly for Boeing "gives us an excellent opportunity to display our capability of development and assembly projects in high technology areas to global quality standards".
India's Ministry of Defence finalised an order with Boeing in 2015 for production, training and support of 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to enhance New Delhi's capabilities across a range of military and humanitarian missions. Deliveries for the same will begin in 2019.
TASL is already delivering crown and tailcones for CH-47 Chinook helicopters for the US Army and international customers. The CH-47F Chinook is the advanced multi-mission helicopter, which is being operated by the US Army and 18 other defence forces around the world.
Boeing's network in India includes 35 direct and 120 indirect suppliers that manufacture advanced and complex components and sub-assemblies for a range of various commercial and defence aircraft such as the 787 Dreamliner, 777X, F/A-18, F-15, P-8, CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache.