Pilatus, Swiss aircraft manufacturer, intends to establish an aircraft manufacturing facility in India.
At first, the Swiss firm plans to manufacture airframes for its single-engine turboprop PC-12 aircraft.
The airframes, manufactured from the facility in India, will be shipped to Switzerland for final assembling of the aircraft. The time frame and the location for setting up this facility in India are yet to be finalised.
PC-12 will be a nine-seater aircraft, which will be used for surveillance, evacuation and disaster management operations.
At present, the company is developing PC-24, which will be a business jet which will be used on short unmade runways and is expected to be rolled out by early 2017.
Besides, Pilatus will be supplying 75 basic training aircraft PC-7 to the Indian Air Force by August 2015. So far India has received 12 such aircrafts and is expected to have totally 30 such aircrafts by the end of 2014.
For the supply of PC-7 trainer aircraft, a pact was signed between Indian Air force and Pilatus in May 2013. The agreement was signed for a cost of Rs 3,500 crore.
As per the agreement signed between the two parties, the Swiss company will be developing a training facility with simulators and maintenance unit for these aircraft in Hyderabad.