Larsen & Toubro Limited dispatched the second set of wings for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A on 28 December 2025 from its Precision Manufacturing & Systems Complex in Coimbatore, completing production in 128 days from the start of manufacturing. The dispatch marks progress in efforts to increase manufacturing throughput for the LCA programme as aircraft production rates are scheduled to rise over the coming years.
Abdul Salam, General Manager (LCA), visited the Coimbatore facility for a pre-dispatch review of the second wing set. During the visit, he was received by Ravishankar Thiyagarajan, General Manager and Head of Aerospace Business, who briefed him on manufacturing progress, cycle time improvements, and ongoing measures to stabilise production as volumes scale up.
The 128-day turnaround reflects the integration of advanced automation and process stabilisation across the wing manufacturing line.
Composite manufacturing at the Coimbatore complex is supported by automated fibre placement systems used to lay carbon-fibre tows for complex aerodynamic wing surfaces. These are complemented by large industrial autoclaves for curing composite structures and advanced non-destructive testing, including multi-axis ultrasonic inspection, to detect internal defects. The facility also incorporates five-axis CNC machining for metallic spars and ribs, additive manufacturing for complex brackets and tooling, and a digitally integrated product lifecycle management system that tracks components from fabrication through final assembly.
Each LCA wing requires approximately 8,000 holes, and automated drilling has reduced the processing time for over 65 percent of these holes from around 30 minutes per hole to about one minute, while maintaining tight dimensional tolerances required for fighter aircraft structures.
With the current configuration, L&T is positioned to deliver three wing sets per year per jig, with plans to scale output as additional jigs and process capacity are brought online. The Coimbatore line is being prepared for higher annual volumes to align with the projected ramp-up in LCA Mk1A aircraft production. The first set of wings for the Mk1A variant was handed over to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on 17 July 2025.
The scaling of wing production is expected to support follow-on requirements arising from the Indian Air Force’s confirmed order for 83 LCA Mk1A aircraft and the additional approval for 97 more aircraft, which together imply demand for close to 200 wing sets over the medium term. Increased domestic content and stable production rates are central to meeting these timelines.
Larsen & Toubro Limited’s aerospace and defence activities are housed within its Precision Engineering & Systems business, which has emerged as one of the faster-growing segments in the group’s portfolio. The business targets revenue of around USD 1 billion in the current fiscal year, supported by strong year-on-year growth in recent quarters. Aerospace and defence form a high-value component of L&T’s consolidated order book, which stood at a record INR 6.67 trillion as of late 2025, with the hi-tech manufacturing segment typically delivering higher operating margins than the company’s core infrastructure businesses.
The order pipeline for L&T Aerospace is supported by long-term domestic defence programmes and expected follow-on orders. These include sustained requirements from fighter aircraft production, armoured systems, artillery, missile subsystems, and strategic manufacturing. The approval of additional LCA Mk1A aircraft is expected to translate into multi-year demand for airframe structures and assemblies, while ongoing programmes such as Tejas Mk2 and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft are positioned to extend L&T’s involvement across successive aircraft generations.
Beyond defence aviation, L&T has an established role in India’s space sector, supplying critical structures, propulsion hardware, and precision assemblies for launch vehicle and satellite programmes of the Indian Space Research Organisation. The company is moving from a component supplier role toward system-level integration, including participation in the assembly of launch vehicles through industry-led consortia. This expanding footprint across defence, aerospace, and space manufacturing underpins L&T’s strategy to scale high-technology production, deepen domestic capabilities, and secure long-term visibility in strategic national programmes.