Mahindra and Embraer Pick Nagpur for Possible C-390 Military Aircraft Assembly Line

Mahindra Group and Brazilian planemaker Embraer have chosen a site for the factory they hope to build if India buys their military transport jet. In a joint statement on Thursday, the partners named Nagpur as the proposed location for a final assembly facility for the C-390 Millennium, their entry in the Indian Air Force's Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) competition.

The plan comes with a clear condition. The facility will go ahead only if the Government of India selects the C-390 and places an order under the MTA programme. Neither company has disclosed the planned investment, production rate or size of the site.

Land is already in hand

The Maharashtra government has allotted land in Nagpur for the project, and the two companies say they are working with the state on approvals and the supporting infrastructure. Vinod Sahay, a member of Mahindra's Group Executive Board, thanked the state for moving quickly on the allotment and said the preparations are about having an industrial base ready to scale if the aircraft is chosen.

Bosco da Costa Jr, who heads Embraer's defence and security business, called the site selection an important step towards a long-term aerospace ecosystem in India.

The proposed plant would handle final assembly, systems integration and manufacturing engineering. If the contract is won, the partners plan to bring Indian suppliers into the programme over time, covering parts production, after-sales service, training and lifecycle support.

Why Nagpur

Nagpur sits close to India's geographic centre and has built up an aerospace cluster around its airport over the past two decades, much of it in the MIHAN special economic zone. Dassault Reliance Aerospace has made aerostructures there since 2017, and Air India's engineering arm runs a widebody maintenance base in the city that Boeing originally developed.

For Mahindra, the facility would be a step up. Its aerospace arm today makes aerostructures and assemblies for Airbus and Boeing programmes at Narasapura near Bengaluru. Final assembly of a 26-tonne-class military jet would be a much bigger industrial task.

The contest it depends on

The MTA programme aims to replace part of the IAF's ageing transport fleet, such as the Soviet-era An-32, with a new aircraft in the 18 to 30 tonne payload range. The requirement has been reported at around 60 aircraft, making it one of the larger defence aviation tenders in the pipeline.

The C-390 is a twin-engine jet that can carry up to 26 tonnes and operate from short or unpaved strips. It handles cargo and troop transport, airdrops, medical evacuation, search and rescue and firefighting. Its best-known rival in India is Lockheed Martin's C-130J Super Hercules, which the IAF already flies and which is backed locally by Tata Advanced Systems.

A partnership built step by step

Thursday's announcement is the latest in a series of moves. Embraer and Mahindra signed a memorandum of understanding in February 2024 to pursue the MTA requirement, upgraded it to a strategic cooperation agreement in October 2025, and in February 2026 announced plans for a C-390 maintenance, repair and overhaul capability in India, again subject to selection.

Naming a site and securing land are tangible signals in a competition where local manufacturing and supply-chain depth weigh heavily. Whether the Nagpur line is ever built, however, still rests on a government decision that has not yet been made.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.