Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures (TLMAL) on Wednesday said it recently delivered the 200th C-130J Super Hercules empennage from its manufacturing facility in Adibatla here, an announcement that turned the spotlight once more on the defence and aerospace manufacturing ecosystem of Hyderabad and the Centre’s Make In India emphasis.
An empennage is the tail structure located at the rear of an aircraft. Empennage assemblies produced by the company include the aircraft’s horizontal and vertical stabilisers along with leading edges and tip assemblies. The empennages made by TLMAL are included in C-130Js operated by seven countries, including India.
The C-130Js support critical worldwide search and rescue, peacekeeping, combat delivery, maritime patrol, special operations, aerial refuelling, commercial cargo transport, medevac and humanitarian response missions, TLMAL said. The company exemplifies the Make In India initiative and has the distinction of being the single global source of C-130J empennage assemblies installed on all new Super Hercules aircraft produced in Marietta, Georgia, in the US, it said.
The TLMAL team had previously manufactured centre wing box components for legacy C-130 model aircraft and introduced a new cutting-edge 4,700 sq.metre metal-to-metal bonding facility in April 2018. A joint venture between Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the company was established in 2010 in Adibatla and currently employs 650 people.
“In March this year, Lockheed Martin and the Tata Group had signed an MoU to begin implementation of fighter wing production after the team at TLMAL demonstrated the capability to produce one of the most technologically complex aerostructures — a fuel-carrying 9G, 12,000 hour, interchangeable/replaceable fighter wing. This effort not only strengthens Lockheed Martin’s partnership with India but also demonstrates the degree of confidence that exists in our F-21 offering for procurement of 114 new fighter aircraft — exclusively for India and the Indian Air Force — by proving additional indigenous production capability,” it said.
“Each TLMAL-produced empennage literally helps the mighty Super Hercules take flight to support critical missions that impact lives and make history,” vice-president and general manager of the Air Mobility and Maritime Missions line of business at Lockheed Martin Rod McLean said.
CEO and MD of Tata Advanced Systems Sukaran Singh said “over the course of more than a decade, this partnership has achieved unrivaled manufacturing and operational excellence.” TLMAL had, in September 2021, announced delivery of the 150th C-130J Super Hercules empennage from its facility in Adibatla.
