Adani Defence, Leonardo Aerospace in partnership to make advanced helicopters in India

By Gulshan Luthra
New Delhi. Indian forces need a 100 new-gen helicopters every year for the next 10 years, and Adani Aerospace and Italy’s Leonardo have joined hands to progressively Make a chunk of them In India.

Announcing the partnership, Adani’s Director for Defence Aerospace Jeet Adani and Leonardo Helicopters Managing Director Gian Piero Cutillo said that their partnership would “redefine India’s aerospace landscape” and “position India as a trusted global hub for helicopter manufacturing and sustainment.”

Significantly and positively, the Government has already blessed several proposals for modernisation and acquisition, and at the ceremonial announcement today, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Director General Acquisition A Anbarasu were both present in a clear indication that the modernisation process for helicopters wabe on fast track.

(Notably, it was only last week that India had signed a deal with Embraer for making the Brazilian Executive jets in India for both civil and military needs).

Helicopters on Offer

Mr Cutillo said that Leonardo was offering production of AW169 and AW 109 trekker variants as platforms for “growth to the MSMEs and Startups, “integrating them in the global supply chain…We are blending Leonardo’s global position and quality with Adani’s scale and drive.”

Leonardo has about 4,500 helicopters flying in the world, form single to twin and triple engine machines, known for survivability, safety-by-design and advanced technology integration. All are on offer to India.

Helicopters in India

Indian armed forces, Air Force, Army and Navy, and paramilitary forces, have about 1400 helicopters, mostly Russian and French, and many of them are due to be replaced. In any case, the requirements are much larger now to secure the tough borders, particularly along the mountainous terrains of Himalayas and the North-eastern India. The armed forces play a huge role in disaster relief operations too.

There have been inductions of 15 US-made Boeing CH 47 Chinooks, 22 AH 64 Apaches, and some 150 indigenous HAL-made Dhruvs. They are also needed in higher numbers.

For civil requirements, there are only about 250 helicopters for a rather large country of 1.4 billion people.

Said Jeet Adani: “This alliance with Leonardo is a pivotal stride toward a resilient, future-proof helicopter ecosystem in India. Merging global excellence with our industrial momentum, we will drive enduring value, high-skill employment, and alignment with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-reliant India) to position India as a global aerospace powerhouse.”

Official Blessings

As the top Officer of the country for Defence, Mr RK Singh described the MoU as an important event marking “the coming together of two industrial entities.”

“With the vision of Aatamnirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India), we not only want to reduce import dependence but to build a competitive industrial capability within the country.”

The DG Acquisition, the key player in modernisation of the armed forces, described the MoU as “a kind of a strategic marriage,” with emphasis on indigenisation and domestic production, pointing out that 75 percent of the modernisation budget “will now be for domestic procurement” and that “this is a clear signal to our MSMEs and Small Scale Industries, our both government and private sector units” to Make in India.

An Adani-Leonardo joint statement said: By fusing Leonardo’s world-class helicopter design and engineering prowess with Adani Defence’s end-to-end defence and aerospace expertise, the initiative advances the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision, strengthens national defence readiness, with the potential to be extended to civil aviation applications and international supply chain integration.

The Adani-Leonardo Ecosystem

This ecosystem promises transformative economic impact: thousands of high-skill jobs in engineering, manufacturing, logistics, and sustainment services, while cementing India as a competitive hub for helicopter production.

The partnership is comprehensive, covering small and medium scale production in India, and even training of engineers, pilots and skilled workers.

Ashish Rajvanshi, CEO of Adani Defence & Aerospace, noted that the Indian armed forces are projected to require more than 1,000 helicopters over the next decade. He said the collaboration with Leonardo would accelerate indigenisation, strengthen domestic supply chains and support sovereign defence manufacturing.

The Adani-Leonardo joint statement said: By fusing Leonardo’s world-class helicopter design and engineering prowess with Adani Defence’s end-to-end defence and aerospace expertise, the initiative advances the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision, strengthens national defence readiness, with the potential to be extended to civil aviation applications and international supply chain integration.

The Indian Acquisition and Modernisation Process

In the past, routine acquisitions have triggered allegations and political controversies; the worst in 1986 by VP Singh who charged Rajiv Gandhi with corruption in the purchase of Swedish Bofors artillery guns, claiming that they “fired backwards and killed own troops.” It was a lie, and India won the 1999 Kargil War primarily due to the precision firing of Bofors howitzers on high and hidden positions of the Pakistani army.

Even though VP Singh successfully replaced Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister, he never did prove his allegations as “I promise within six months.” His observations and inquiries though crippled the modernisation process for decades, seriously hurting the armed forces. The Indian Air Force, as an example, has mostly combat jets procured by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke the jinx in 2016 by ordering 36 French Rafales as IAF’s Emergency requirement of Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) category. It’s only now, that the system is in place to buy the 114 Rafales for IAF and 26 for Navy in numbers and in routine as per the laid down norms. Many more of them would be progressively Made in India.

It’s About Speed Now

The Government has apparently initiated reforms towards modernisation with speed and futuristic technologies in mind. That’s why the Ministry of Defence is giving in-principle approvals to cut short the timelines for a process that used to take about seven years as a rule for induction of any new equipment. There were procedural paperwork, trials, negotiations, and delivery timelines after the first payments were made.

Procedures would still need to be followed, but timelines redefined. One major step is to speed up Government to Government agreements or understanding, and to clear any proposals of their companies without delays. That’s what is happening now, and nearly every week there is a top leader coming to India or the Indian PM is going abroad. That boosts goodwill and helps boost Trade and Bilateral and Multilateral agreements as well.

Italian Ambassador Antonio Bartoli, Italy’s envoy in New Delhi, said: Two global champions of the defence industry are opening a new chapter in their relationship. It is a chapter of two worlds into action. In the field of defence, Italy is a partner India can rely on, a reliable partner and a long-term partner.”

“By joining forces, Adani and Leonardo will increase investments and industrial exchanges, contributing to the creation of trusted and resilient value chains between the two countries.”

Emphasising the depth of bilateral ties, he noted, “When one says strategic partnership, it doesn’t mean just a slogan, it means 360 degree partnership in all sectors, but this sector is particularly important because it is not only about security and money, it is about political trust among friends.”