Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) is an Indian aerospace manufacturing, military engineering and defense technology company. It is a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, a holding company for the Tata Group.[4]

Tata Advanced Systems Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryDefence and Aerospace
Founded2007
HeadquartersHyderabad, Telangana, India
Area served
India
Key people
    • Banmali Agarwal (Chairman)[1]
    • Sukaran Singh (CEO & MD)[2]
Products
RevenueIncrease 3,346 crore (US$400 million) (FY23)[3]
Increase 35 crore (US$4.2 million) (FY23)[3]
Number of employees
3000+
ParentTata Sons (100%)
Websitewww.tataadvancedsystems.com

History

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TASL entered into a joint venture with Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation to manufacture the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter in India for the domestic civil and military markets. The plan was to have a US$200 million manufacturing plant operational in Hyderabad by 2010.[5][6] As production began, the first S-92 cabin was delivered in November 2010,[7] and capacity was expected to increase to 36–48 cabins a year.[8] By the end of July 2013, 39 cabins had been assembled.

The joint venture with Sikorsky has since been expanded to include the development of aerospace components for other OEMs. This facility, called Tara, also located in Hyderabad, was completed in 2011 and commenced production in 2012.[9] Another TASL joint-venture, with Lockheed Martin, is producing aero structures for the Lockheed C-130 Hercules and the Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules in India. It is a 74:26 joint venture which currently assembles Hercules centre wing boxes and empennages.[10]

In partnership with Airbus Defence and Space, the company fielded the EADS CASA C-295 for the Indian Air Force light-cargo fleet renewal program, which the Indian government approved on 13 May 2015. Under the project 16 complete aircraft will be imported, while 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India.[11]

The company has also entered an agreement to produce structures for the Pilatus PC-12NG from 2016 to 2026.[12]

The aerospace and military division of Tata Motors was sold to Tata Advanced Systems on May 3, 2018.[13] Lockheed Martin declared in September 2018 that, in partnership with TASL, it would manufacture wings for the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.[14] Inaugurated in 2018, the Hyderabad facility of Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL), a joint venture between Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems, will serve as the exclusive global manufacturer of fuselages for AH-64 Apache helicopters supplied by Boeing to its clientele worldwide.[15][16]

Tata Power SED was purchased by Tata Advanced Systems from Tata Power in 2020.[17]

In early 2021, it was reported that Tata Advanced Systems of India had likely bought the intellectual property rights of the Grob G180 SPn aircraft for the development of a military variant to be offered to the Indian army as a signals intelligence gathering and surveillance platform.[18] In February 2021, Lockheed Martin announced that they are teaming with Tata Advanced Systems for meeting the Indian Navy's proposed requirement for Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH).[19] In September 2021 India has signed deal of buying C-295 Cargo aircraft and that will be made by Tata Advanced System.[20]

In 2024, Tata Advanced Systems announced that the company and Lockheed Martin are looking at further opportunities in India. This includes establishing a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in India to support the IAF's fleet of 12 C-130Js and other global Super Hercules fleets.[21] It also includes expanding the C-130J manufacturing and assembly in India to produce aircraft for the IAF’s Medium Transport Aircraft program, which subject to U.S. government and Indian government approvals.[21]

Following an armored vehicle contract from the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces in 2024, Tata Advanced Systems will establish a plant in Casablanca. The first WhAPs are expected to be rolled out in 18 months, with the intention of catering to the broader African market. The production facility, which will be operational within a year, will be able to produce 100 combat vehicles yearly.[22]

Major programs

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Products and services

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Military vehicles

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ATAGS towed-howitzer jointly developed by Tata Advanced Systems and DRDO.
 
TATA Kestrel

UAVs

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TASL is bidding to develop and build unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the Indian Armed Forces for surveillance.[24] It has agreements with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and "Urban Aeronautics" for cooperation and co-development of UAVs in India.[25][26] It has developed and successfully flight tested a long-range kamikaze drone known as ALS-50 which can strike beyond ranges of 50 km and turn back in case of an abandoned mission and will soon be in use by the Indian armed forces.[27]

Rajak

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TASL developed Rajak-XLR an enhanced variant of Rajak-ULR for Regiment of Artillery. It consists of a long-range continuous zoom-type thermal camera, a long-range continuous zoom-type day camera, and a laser rangefinder for analyzing the distance of the target. The system can detect vehicles within a range of 50 km including the type and humans within 40 km.[28]

Lanza-N radar

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TASL licence-manufactures Lanza-N L-band air surveillance radars for the frontline warships of the Indian Navy. The radar is originally manufactured by Indra Sistemas. Indian Navy ordered 23 such radars from the Spanish firm. The first 3 units were directly delivered by Indra while the rest of 20 units will be manufactured in India. It was reported that INS Mysore has been retrofitted with the radar.[29][30][31]

Satellites

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TASL built TSAT-1A at the Vemagal facility in Karnataka in collaboration with Satellogic. It is the First private-sector-owned sub-metre resolution earth observation satellite in India. the satellite was launched aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 Bandwagon-1 mission on 7th April 2024 at 23:16 GMT.[32] Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) signed a deal with Satellogic, a US-based LEO satellite manufacturer, to build a production facility in India for LEO satellites.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Banmali, Agarwal. "Banmali Agrawala new chairman of Tata Advanced Systems, co aims to scale up defence biz". The Economic Times. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Tata defence unit arms itself for bigger slice of Indian market". Financial Times. 23 December 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Tata Advanced Systems Limited" (PDF). CRISIL. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  4. ^ Tata Advanced Systems: About us! Archived 2009-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Tata-Sikorsky Deal Ends HAL Aerospace Monopoly – Defense News[dead link]
  6. ^ "MACHINIST – Tata Advanced Systems and Sikorsky to Manufacture Helicopter Cabins in India". Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Business briefs". Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  8. ^ Sikorsky may make choppers at Hyderabad – Money – DNA
  9. ^ "Tata, Sikorsky JV to make aerospace components". Archived from the original on 17 November 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  10. ^ "Tata Lockheed Martin delivers 150th C-130J Super Hercules empennage". The Statesman. 15 September 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Avro aircraft deal: Defence council clears Rs 11,930 cr Tata-Airbus bid". The Indian Express. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  12. ^ Trautvetter, Chad. "Pilatus Taps India's Tata To Make PC-12 Aerostructures Archived 4 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine" AINonline, 26 August 2014. Accessed: 4 September 2014.
  13. ^ "Tata Motors to sell defence, aerospace business to Tata Advanced Systems". Moneycontrol. 3 May 2018. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Lockheed Martin reportedly set to build all F-16 wings in India". CNBC. 4 September 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  15. ^ Kendall, David; Vengadesan, Joanne; Walton, Philip. "Tata-Boeing joint venture establishes aerospace facility in Hyderabad". Penningtons Manches Cooper. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  16. ^ Apparasu, Srinivasa Rao (1 March 2018). "Tata Boeing Aerospace facility to produce fuselages for Apache aircraft opened in Hyderabad". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Tata Power completes sale of its defence business to Tata Advanced Systems". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  18. ^ Pubby, Manu (1 February 2021). "In a first, Tata to build military aircraft in India as it acquires IP rights". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  19. ^ "Lockheed Martin, TASL Join Hands for Navy's NUH Programme". 9 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Prime Minister's meeting with Prime Minister of Spain on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Rome". Prime Minister's Office, Government of India. Press Information Bureau. 31 October 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Tata, Lockheed tie up for aircraft production in India. Details here". Business Today. 10 September 2024. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  22. ^ Pubby, Manu (28 September 2024). "A First for India: Tatas to set up defence factory abroad". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  23. ^ "Tata Power Strategic Electronics Division :: Product Range :: Weapon Systems". Tatapowersed.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  24. ^ "India Inc makes strategic moves on defence deals". Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  25. ^ News Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ News Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Pubby, Manu. "Indigenous loitering munition successfully hits target at Pokhran". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  28. ^ Majumdar, Oishee (13 July 2022). "East Tech 2022: TASL's new surveillance system to be tested by Indian Army in August". Janes. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  29. ^ Staff, Naval News (19 May 2023). "Indian Navy Destroyer Fitted with Lanza-N 3D radar". Naval News. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  30. ^ "Indian Navy installs Lanza-N surveillance radar on INS Mysore". Default. 25 July 2024. Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  31. ^ "TATA & INDRA Has Installed The First Lanza-3D Naval Radar On An Indian Navy Warship". Archived from the original on 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  32. ^ Press Trust of India (8 April 2024). "Sub-metre optical satellite assembled in India deployed into space: TASL". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  33. ^ PTI (29 November 2023). "Tata Advanced Systems partners Satellogic to develop local space tech capabilities in India". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
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