DECEMBER 20258SAKTHI AIRCRAFT TO BEGIN PRIVATE TRAINER AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION IN 2026NOVA & TATA ELXSI TO CO-DEVELOP KAVACH 4.0 FOR 50,000 CR MARKETThe Coimbatore-based Sakthi Aircraft Industry Pvt Ltd (SAIPL) is set to begin trainer aircraft manufacturing at Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, creating India's first private-sector facility of its kind.Manufacturing will start in January 2026, with deliveries expected in February or March, said D Vaibhav, Managing Director and CEO, SAIPL. The move is expected to reduce dependence on imported aircraft used by Flying Training Organisations (FTOs).Nova Control Tecnologix, a deeptech subsidiary of Etoe Transportation Infrastructure, and Tata Elxsi have come together to co-develop the next generation of India's automatic train protection system, Kavach 4.0.The collaboration assumes significance as the Indian train protection market is expected to see orders worth nearly 50,000 crore during the rollout of Kavach Phase-I over the next six to seven years, according to senior executives from the two companies.Created as an Indian Railways-owned ATP system, Kavach is a major element of the pushing towards improving operational safety and preventing signal-passing-at-danger The Sakthi Group is investing 750 crore in the project, covering the Tiruppur plant and a smaller facility in Uttar Pradesh for production tooling, maintenance infrastructure, and licensing. Austria-based Diamond Aircraft is supporting the program through technology transfer and licensing. "We plan to start manufacturing in January 2026, with deliveries expected in February or March 2026," Vaibhav said.Diamond Aircraft, the world's third-largest general aviation aircraft manufacturer with more than 5,500 aircraft in service, already has its DA40 NG trainer aircraft operating with about 10 FTOs in India. The Tiruppur project is aimed at strengthening the aviation training ecosystem with locally built trainer aircraft.India's aviation market growth is driving demand for pilots and training capacity. "To support this growth, India will require an additional 10,000­15,000 commercial pilots by 2030," Vaibhav said. Limited FTO capacity has forced many students to train overseas at higher costs.SAIPL plans deliveries of 40 aircraft in 2026 and an annual capacity of 100 aircraft by 2027. About 80 percent of manufacturing will take place at Tiruppur, with the rest at IGRUA, where SAIPL will also act as the sole authorized MRO provider for Diamond Aircraft in India. An FTO official said meeting future demand will be the key challenge. accidents and modernizing the signalling infrastructure of high-density routes.Nova Control Tecnologix has experience in the domain of railway safety systems, whereas Tata Elxsi has its strengths in embedded systems, digital engineering, and the software development of systems with a safety hazard concern. The companies are working towards a common goal to develop Kavach 4.0 into a more sophisticated, scaled and global competition solution in tandem with the future needs of rail mobility.Manoj Raghavan, Managing Director and CEO, Tata Elxsi, said, "Kavach 4.0 is a significant step in advancing India's indigenous railway safety capabilities. Through this collaboration, we are focused on building a robust, safety-critical train protection system that is scalable for nationwide deployment and competitive for global rail markets."Outside of the domestic market, the partnership is also exploring export opportunities in the Southeast Asian, African, and West Asian markets, where the growing rail infrastructure and the emergence of stricter safety standards are pushing the need to seek inexpensive ATP solutions in India.With a broader implementation of Kavach, the alliance will not only enhance the safety system of the Indian railway system but also open up the global growth system in the long term. TOP STORIESTOP STORIESTOP STORIES
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