Senior Embraer executives have been in India this week, evaluating options to expand the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer’s supply chain. On Thursday, the company said it wants to make agreements with suppliers to provide aerostructures, machining, sheet metal, composites, forgings, wire harnesses, and other hardware for its military, commercial, and business aircraft.
The prospect of supplying the C-390 Millenium aircraft for the Indian Air Force’s Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) is a key driver behind moves to establish a local supply base in line with the government’s “Make in India” policy. In February, Embraer announced a partnership with Indian industrial group Mahindra to cooperate on the MTA bid.
According to Embraer, it now has more than 44 of its aircraft based in India. These include a fleet of five business jets operated by the government and the air force and three of ERJ-145-based airborne early warning military aircraft.
“India has a robust aviation and defense industry, and we see strong viability for manufacturers and systems developers in India to be key suppliers to Embraer,” said Roberto Chaves, the company’s executive v-p of global procurement and supply chain. “We are driven by a common vision, which is to drive the aviation capabilities of Brazil and India to greater heights, and to deliver value to our customers around the world.”