Airbus has selected Indamer Technics to establish South Asia’s first comprehensive radome repair facility in Nagpur, Maharashtra, localizing critical maintenance capabilities for four major Airbus Commercial-Aircraft families.

Announced on September 3, 2026, the partnerships aims to eliminate the need for operators to ship radomes overseas for maintenance. The facility will support the Airbus A320, A330, A350, and A380 platforms, directly addressing the logistical costs and turnaround times associated with component repair.

Localizing radome maintenance and repair

The Nagpur facility will handle the repair, storage, and exchange of radomes for operators in the region. According to the project specifications, the site’s capabilities will include structural inspections, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), paint stripping, repainting, and certification for Release to Service (RTS).

Jürgen Westermeier, President and Managing Director of Airbus in India and South Asia, stated that bringing these essential maintenance capabilities directly to Nagpur supports the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ mission and fosters greater self-reliance in the country’s Airlines sector.

“As the region prepares for unprecedented fleet expansion, this facility will ensure we can support our customers with significantly reduced turnaround times, keeping their aircraft flying efficiently,” Westermeier said.

The Contracts exchange took place in the presence of Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu, India’s Minister of Civil Aviation, and Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Expanding India’s MRO ecosystem

The agreement builds on an existing relationship between the two companies. Indamer Technics currently provides Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services for Airbus Helicopters at facilities in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Nagpur.

Prajay Patel, Director of Indamer Technics, noted that the selection by Airbus serves as an endorsement of the company’s engineering capabilities and exacting certification standards.

“This agreement marks an important next step in our vision to establish India as a self-reliant, world-class hub for aerospace MRO, and we look forward to deepening this partnership as the region’s fleet continues to grow,” Patel said.

The announcement aligns with a period of massive fleet expansion in the Indian aviation market. According to ANI News, India currently has approximately 800 commercial aircraft in operation, with more than 500 manufactured by Airbus. The European airframer holds a backlog of over 1,200 aircraft for Indian operators, translating to an expected delivery rate of roughly 120 aircraft annually over the next decade.

AirPro News analysis

We view the localization of radome repair as a necessary logistical step for Airbus given its dominant market share and massive order backlog in India. Radomes are bulky, fragile components that are highly susceptible to environmental damage, such as bird strikes and hail. Shipping these structures overseas for routine NDT or structural repair incurs high freight costs and extends aircraft downtime. By establishing an RTS-certified facility within the country, Airbus provides its Indian airline customers with a critical buffer against supply chain delays, ensuring that the projected influx of 120 new aircraft per year does not overwhelm regional maintenance networks.

Sources: Airbus

On September 3, 2026, Britten-Norman completed the maiden flight of the first BN2B-26 Islander assembled entirely in the United Kingdom from detail component level in 56 years. The aircraft, bearing serial number 2317, departed Bembridge Airport on the Isle of Wight at 14:25 local time, marking the culmination of a strategic initiative to reshore the manufacturer’s production capabilities.

In a press release issued following the flight, Britten-Norman confirmed the milestone ends a decades-long reliance on overseas manufacturing. Since 1968, Islander airframes had been built under sub-contract in Bucharest, Romania. Beginning in 2009, those airframes were transported by road across Europe to Bembridge as major sub-assemblies for final finishing. By building the aircraft from detail components domestically, the company regains direct control over the build sequence, tooling, and quality standards.

Reshoring production and workforce expansion

To support the transition back to domestic manufacturing, Britten-Norman has expanded its workforce by 40 percent and invested in new computer numerical control (CNC) machining equipment. The company aims to establish a continuous production cadence of eight aircraft per year. A second airframe is already progressing through the Bembridge production line, having reached 25 percent completion by the summer of 2026, while components for subsequent aircraft are currently being manufactured.

“Operators want to know two things. Will the aircraft do the job, and will it arrive when we said it would,” said Richard Milne, Chief Operating Officer at Britten-Norman. “The first has been settled for a long time. Assembling the airframe here is how we settle the second, because it puts the sequence, the tooling and the quality standard in our own hands.”

The FIGAS contract and aircraft milestones

Aircraft serial 2317 is the first of four new BN2B-26 Islanders ordered by the Falkland Islands Government Air Service (FIGAS) under a $9.75 million contract signed in November 2024. The aircraft progressed steadily through final assembly, reaching 75 percent structural completion in June 2026. Electrical power was successfully applied on July 29, 2026, followed by the official factory rollout on July 30.

“We’re delighted to see this new aircraft taking shape and look forward to welcoming it to the Falkland Islands,” said Duane Stewart, General Manager of FIGAS. “This new Islander will be a valuable addition to the FIGAS fleet and help us continue providing an essential service to our community for years to come.”

A historic milestone for the Bembridge facility

The Islander has maintained a steady presence in the utility and commuter aviation sectors, with approximately 350 aircraft currently in service across more than 70 countries. The global fleet has logged an estimated 20 million flight hours. For the workforce at Bembridge, the September 3 flight represented a significant shift in daily operations after nearly half a century of finishing imported airframes.

Pete Dowers, a fitter who has worked on 500 aircraft during his tenure at Britten-Norman, highlighted the personal significance of the event for the manufacturing team.

“I joined in September 1978 at the apprentice training school and my first major project was the Belgian Army camera floor conversions. In 1981, we delivered the first turbine Islander. For 48 years the airframes have arrived here and we have finished them off. This is the first one we have put together ourselves from the components up, and I stood on the apron and watched it fly. Five hundred aircraft, and this is the one I will remember. It is a special one.”

AirPro News analysis

We view Britten-Norman’s successful reshoring of the Islander production line as a pragmatic move to insulate the company from supply chain vulnerabilities and cross-border logistical friction. By eliminating the road transport of major sub-assemblies from Romania, the manufacturer reduces transit risks and tightens its quality assurance loop. While a target production rate of eight aircraft per year remains modest compared to larger original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), it aligns with the specialized, low-volume demand of the rugged utility aircraft market. The successful flight of serial 2317 validates the company’s recent workforce and tooling investments, positioning Britten-Norman to better control delivery timelines for operators operating in remote environments.

Sources: Britten-Norman

This article summarizes reporting by Reuters by Tim Hepher, with additional reporting from The Straits Times.

Airbus SE halted deliveries of its Airbus A330neo widebody aircraft for nearly three months this summer after discovering a stray tool left inside the horizontal tail plane of a production jet. The foreign object debris discovery prompted fleet-wide inspections on the assembly line before deliveries resumed in late August 2026.

The production pause resulted in zero A330neo deliveries in June and July 2026, according to delivery data reported by The Straits Times. The European manufacturer confirmed the disruption on September 3, 2026, describing the event as an isolated quality lapse that has since been resolved.

Production halt and inspection process

The horizontal tail planes for the Airbus A330 family are manufactured at the company’s facility in Getafe, Spain. Unnamed sources speaking to Reuters indicated that a tool was left inside the tail section during the manufacturing process.

In an emailed statement to Reuters, an Airbus spokesperson confirmed the company recently identified an “isolated quality issue” on an A330 horizontal tail plane. The manufacturer stated that the finding required inspectors to examine other A330 aircraft currently on the assembly line, which caused the summer delivery slowdown.

“The root cause is identified and A330 deliveries have resumed,” the spokesperson told Reuters.

Delivery impacts and broader supply chain context

The inspection mandate effectively froze the A330neo delivery pipeline during the early summer months. Following the zero-delivery months of June and July, Airbus handed over a single A330neo to Starlux Airlines in August 2026. Across all commercial aircraft programs, the manufacturer delivered 57 jets in August, according to The Straits Times.

The Getafe facility has recently experienced labor strikes over working conditions involving thousands of employees. However, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the stray tool incident is unrelated to the ongoing industrial action.

AirPro News analysis

We view this incident as a classic example of Foreign Object Debris (FOD) risk management. While a stray tool in a critical structural component like the horizontal tail plane poses a severe safety hazard if undetected, the fact that Airbus caught the issue during the production phase demonstrates that internal quality assurance protocols functioned as intended.

The resulting three-month delivery delay compounds existing pressures on Airbus. The manufacturer is currently navigating engine availability constraints from Pratt & Whitney and previous quality issues with Airbus A320 family fuselage panels. Meeting the stated 2026 target of 870 commercial aircraft deliveries will require the company to accelerate output significantly in the fourth quarter, leaving little margin for further supply chain or production disruptions.

Sources: Reuters