Airbus, Mahindra JV to make helicopters

European major Airbus has teamed up with diversified Mahindra Group to establish a joint venture for manufacturing helicopters for the Indian Armed Forces.

The joint venture between Airbus Helicopters and Mahindra Defence aims to become the "first private Indian helicopter manufacturer under the 'Make in India' initiative," the companies said on Friday.

To be set up in the coming months, the venture would produce helicopters to meet the country's military requirements.

"Both companies will now get into discussions to finalise the formation of the joint venture which will act as the prime contractor for India's military helicopter tenders including the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Helicopter, the Naval Utility Helicopter and the Naval Multirole Helicopter procurement programmes," the firms said in a statement. According to the statement, the venture would create hundreds of high-tech jobs locally and lead to a flow of cutting edge technologies to India, should it be selected in the governmental helicopter tenders.