Tata Boeing Aerospace (TBAL), a joint venture between Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) recently inaugurated its state-of-the-art facility in Hyderabad. Spread over 14,000-square meters and employing 350 highly skilled workers, the facility will be the sole global producer of fuselages for AH-64 Apache helicopter delivered by Boeing to its global customers including the U.S. Army. The facility will also produce secondary structures and vertical spar boxes of this multi-role combat helicopter. The delivery of the first fuselage is expected in 2018.

"I congratulate Tata and Boeing for taking this bold step towards Make in India and making this substantial investment in the defence space," said Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Defence, Government of India. "The manufacturing of advanced defence platforms and being integrated with the complex global supply chain will help our aerospace industry acquire technology, build local capability, provide employment and become a global exporter."

TBAL, Boeing's first equity joint venture in India, is the result of a 2015 partnership agreement with TASL. Construction of the manufacturing facility began in 2016 and was completed on schedule. In addition, Boeing and TASL have worked closely to develop a pool of highly skilled aerospace talent through skill development initiatives.

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