MBDA ASTER Surface-To-Air missile part of Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS)

The TATA group and a joint venture (JV) between Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and European missile manufacturer MBDA have received approvals from the Indian government to establish defence production facilities in separate locations in southern India.

The government’s department of commerce – a unit under the ministry of commerce and industry – said in a recent memo that the approvals will support the development of TATA’s aerospace manufacturing facility in Cochin and a missile assembly plant, which is run by L&T MBDA Missile Systems Limited, in Coimbatore.

The memo said the two facilities will be located in ‘special economic zones’ established in Cochin and Coimbatore to support regional development.