Apogee Aerospace signs ₹3,500 cr deal with Australia's AAI for 15 seaplanes

Apogee Aerospace has placed an order for 15 amphibian aircraft with Australia's Amphibian Aerospace Industries (AAI) for a total value of ₹3,500 crore as part of a strategic collaboration.

Besides, the Indian company will invest ₹500 crore to establish tail-section manufacturing, maintenance and overhaul facilities, training and simulation infrastructure, and advanced systems integration capabilities in India.

This will be for the amphibian planes of AAI, which also plans to set up a manufacturing facility for these planes in India.

The announcements made on Thursday in the national capital also come at a time when the government is making efforts to boost air connectivity as well as encourage self-reliance in the fast-growing aviation and aerospace ecosystem.

 

Amphibian aircraft can operate on both water and land. They are also known as seaplanes.

The two companies are also looking to tap the opportunities in the country's blue economy.

On Thursday, AAI and Apogee Aerospace announced a strategic collaboration to establish an amphibian aviation ecosystem in the country that will be anchored by AAI's Albatross 2.0 amphibious aircraft platform.

Albatross 2.0 are transport category planes that can have up to 28 seats.

Under the collaboration, Apogee Aerospace will be AAI's exclusive authorised representative partner for the Indian subcontinent in the restricted category covering defence and government requirements.

"The partnership extends across maintenance, repair and overhaul, training and capability development, simulation, end-to-end systems integration for the militarisation of the aircraft," a release said.

According to the release, these system integration facilities will support the development and delivery of indigenised military variants of the Albatross platform for the Indian Armed Forces.

AAI President & CEO Gopi Reddy said the first Albatross 2.0 aircraft is expected to enter the Indian market in the next 18-24 months.

Apogee Aerospace has placed an order for 15 amphibian aircraft with AAI and the total programme value is around ₹3,500 crore, it added.

The company will be providing the aircraft for entities that would like to operate them.

AAI Executive Chairman Khoa Hoang said the ultimate goal is to set up its second full Albatross manufacturing and assembly line in India.

Negotiations and planning for setting up the assembly line are going on, he added.

The company has a manufacturing facility in the US.

Apogee Aerospace, a defence and aerospace company, has invested around ₹65 crore in Amphibian Aircraft Holdings, the parent of AAI.

In the Union Budget for 2026-27 presented on Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that to enhance last-mile and remote connectivity, and promote tourism, she was proposing to give incentives to indigenise the manufacturing of seaplanes.

"A Seaplane VGF Scheme will also be introduced to provide support for operations," she said.

VGF refers to Viability Gap Funding.