TATA Group to manufacture Grob G180

The TATA Group acquired all intellectual property rights for the Grob G180 corporate jet. The Group will develop and manufacture the corporate jet for the military.

The high-altitude, twin engine aircraft is currently in the final stages of testing in Germany and is expected to arrive in India in the coming months.

This would be the first time that an Indian private entity is looking at making a full military-grade aircraft, which until now has been the domain of the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) will showcase the capabilities of the aircraft at the AeroIndia show at Yelahanka Air Force Station. Though the company has not shared details of the design, the aircraft is very likely to be based on the Grob G180SPn. The German-made jet never reached serial production due to financial strains.

According to TASL, the aircraft it is developing is designed for flying at 41,000 feet altitude with a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet and can be used for intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) purposes. The low-wing, twin-engine composite aircraft is expected to have a range of 1,800 nautical miles and 6-7 hours endurance with a payload capacity in excess of 1,000 kg.

No firm orders from the Indian military have been placed, but TASL is confident that they will receive orders in the near future.

Photo: bizboy, kindly provided by JetPhotos.net