Tata Boeing rolls out 400th India-made Apache fuselage, TASL explores Javelin co-production
Tata Boeing Aerospace marks the rollout of its 400th Apache fuselage in Hyderabad. Image courtesy: X.com/@tataadvanced
New Delhi: Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) has rolled out its 400th India-made fuselage for the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter from its Hyderabad facility, extending its role in Boeing’s global Apache production chain. Separately, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Javelin Joint venture to explore co-production of the US-made Javelin anti-tank guided missile in India.
The two programmes are at different stages. Apache fuselages are already being manufactured in Hyderabad, while the Javelin initiative remains at the MoU and planning stage, with the companies examining final assembly, integration and component-production capabilities in India.
400 Apache fuselages manufactured in India
TBAL is a joint venture between Boeing and TASL established to manufacture aerostructures for the Apache programme. The 400th fuselage was rolled out from the Hyderabad facility on Monday and will form part of Boeing’s wider production process for complete Apache helicopters.
The facility manufactures the Apache fuselage and related aerostructures, not the complete helicopter. Boeing assembles and tests complete Apache aircraft at its Mesa facility in Arizona.
Boeing’s most recent published description of the Hyderabad operation, in 2025, identified TBAL as the global sole source supplier of Apache fuselages. The Monday announcement confirms that the facility continues supplying fuselages for the global programme.
India-made Apache structures feed global supply chain
The Tata-Boeing partnership dates to 2015, while the dedicated Apache fuselage facility in Hyderabad was inaugurated in 2018. Boeing said at the time that the plant would become the sole global producer of fuselages for Apache helicopters supplied to customers worldwide.
The facility delivered its 300th Apache fuselage in 2025 and has now reached the 400-unit mark. The milestone relates specifically to fuselage production and should not be confused with the number of complete Apache helicopters delivered either globally or to India.
TASL explores Javelin missile co-production
The Apache milestone comes days after TASL and the Javelin Joint Venture, a partnership between Raytheon, an RTX business, and Lockheed Martin, signed an MoU for possible co-production of the Javelin All Up Round in India. TASL has been selected as the prime Indian partner for future in-country co-production, although the programme remains at the MoU and planning stage.
The companies will explore establishing a final assembly and integration facility in India as well as capabilities to manufacture selected components. Key sub-assemblies and guidance electronics would continue to be supplied from the United States under the proposed model.
RNA Media earlier reported that TASL had signed the MoU with the Javelin Joint Venture to explore co-production of the anti-tank missile in India.
Javelin is a shoulder-launched, fire and forget anti-tank guided missile system. The proposed arrangement concerns co-production and does not amount to indigenous development of the weapon.
India-US defence manufacturing ties
The Apache and Javelin programmes represent two different forms of India-US defence industrial cooperation. In one, an Indian joint venture is already manufacturing a major aircraft structure for Boeing’s global supply chain, while the other remains a proposed co-production arrangement involving final assembly, integration and selected component manufacturing.
No production contract, investment value, facility location or manufacturing timeline has yet been announced for Javelin in India. For now, the Apache fuselage programme has reached an established 400-unit production milestone, while the Javelin initiative remains at the MoU stage as TASL, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin work out the scope of possible co-production.
