Reliance Infrastructure (RLIN.NS) partnered with France's Dassault Aviation (AM.PA) to produce Falcon 2000 business jets in India, both the companies said on Wednesday. The development comes as a part of India's increasing drive to increase indigenous defense production.
The first India-made Falcon 2000 aircraft will be delivered by 2028, targeting domestic corporate customers as well as foreign markets, including possible military uses, Dassault said.
Being the largest importer of arms in the world, India has been moving aggressively from foreign dependence to indigenous manufacturing. The government has been inviting global defense players to either set up independent operations or collaborate with Indian businesses to manufacture defense and aviation equipment domestically.
New Delhi is also seeking to boost its defense exports. During the financial year up to March, Indian defense exports were up 12% at $2.76 billion.
This is the first time Dassault will produce Falcon 2000 aircraft outside of France. The final assembly line will come up in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in partnership with Reliance Aerostructure, a subsidiary of Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure.
After the news, Reliance Infrastructure's shares jumped 5% in afternoon trading, and Dassault Aviation's shares held firm.
In another pact earlier this month, Dassault signed a separate deal with India's Tata Group to manufacture the fuselage of its Rafale fighter planes in Hyderabad—a first for the company, as Rafale parts will be made outside France for the first time.
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