Tata Advanced Systems and Dassault Aviation have signed agreements to manufacture Rafale fighter aircraft fuselages in India, marking the first time these will be produced outside France. Tata will set up a state-of-the-art facility in Hyderabad to produce key fuselage sections, aiming to deliver up to two complete fuselages monthly by FY2028.
Under the scope of the partnership, Tata Advanced Systems will set up a cutting-edge production facility in Hyderabad for the manufacture of key structural sections of the Rafale, including the lateral shells of the rear fuselage, the complete rear section, the central fuselage, and the front section.
The fuselage, or body of the airplane, is a long hollow tube which holds all the pieces of an airplane together. A supersonic fighter plane has a very slender, streamlined fuselage to reduce the drag associated with high speed flight.
For a fighter plane, the cockpit is normally on top of the fuselage, weapons are carried on the wings, and the engines and fuel are placed at the rear of the fuselage.
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