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Embraer signed an unprecedented contract with India’s Bharat Forge for the supply of forged aeronautical materials, advanced negotiations with the Adani group to install an E175 regional jet assembly line in India, and targets a market that is expected to demand at least 500 aircraft with capacity between 80 and 146 seats in the next 20 years.
According to G1, Embraer is building something in India that goes far beyond selling ready-made airplanes. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, headquartered in São José dos Campos, announced this Monday (11) the signing of a contract with Bharat Forge Limited (BFL), an Indian multinational based in Pune, for the supply of raw forged materials used in the company’s production chain. According to Embraer, this is the first contract of its kind signed with an Indian supplier, marking an unprecedented step in the company’s relationship with the Asian country.
The announcement was made in New Delhi and adds to a sequence of strategic moves Embraer has been executing in India since 2025. The Brazilian manufacturer already has its own office in the country, signed an agreement with Adani Defence & Aerospace for cooperation in aircraft manufacturing, and is negotiating the installation of a final assembly line for the E175 regional jet on Indian soil. Industry estimates indicate that India is expected to demand at least 500 aircraft with capacity between 80 and 146 seats in the next 20 years, a market that Embraer intends to serve with a local presence and not just through exports.
The contract with Bharat Forge: what changes for Embraer
Bharat Forge is an Indian multinational operating in the automotive, energy, oil and gas, construction, mining, railway, maritime, defense, and aerospace sectors. The contract provides for the supply of raw forged materials, fundamental components in aircraft structures that require extremely high mechanical resistance and dimensional precision. For Embraer, incorporating an Indian supplier into its global supply chain represents a diversification that reduces dependence on suppliers concentrated in a few countries.
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The agreement also has a strategic significance that goes beyond logistics. By contracting an Indian company, Embraer strengthens its political and commercial position in India, demonstrating a willingness to generate local value and not just extract revenue from the market. Governments of emerging countries like India value international partners who integrate national industry into their production chains, and Embraer is positioning itself precisely within this logic.
The partnership with Adani and the E175 assembly line
The contract with Bharat Forge is the latest piece of a puzzle Embraer has been assembling in India for at least a year. In January 2026, the Brazilian manufacturer announced an agreement with Adani Defence & Aerospace, considered India’s largest private aerospace and defense company, providing for cooperation in aircraft manufacturing, supply chain, after-sales services, and pilot training. The stated objective was to meet the growing demand of Indian regional aviation.
In February, Embraer and Adani expanded their partnership and signed a memorandum to enable the installation of a final assembly line for the E175 regional jet in India. The ceremony was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, signaling the institutional importance both countries attribute to the agreement. If materialized, the assembly line will transform India into a production hub for Brazilian commercial aircraft, a condition no other Asian country currently holds with Embraer.
500 aircraft in 20 years: the size of the Indian market
The numbers that justify Embraer’s bet on India are significant. Industry estimates indicate that the country is expected to demand at least 500 aircraft with capacity between 80 and 146 seats in the next 20 years, a range that precisely matches the Brazilian manufacturer’s regional jet portfolio. India has a population of over 1.4 billion people, hundreds of medium-sized cities with underutilized airports, and an expanding middle class that is beginning to shift from rail travel to air transport.
This market profile is ideal for Embraer’s business model, which specializes in regional aircraft capable of operating on lower-density routes with economic efficiency. While major manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus compete for widebody aircraft contracts for international routes, Embraer finds in Indian regional aviation a space where its product is technically the most suitable and where direct competition is lower. Local presence, with an assembly line and Indian suppliers, further strengthens this advantage.
From the New Delhi office to the local supply chain
Embraer’s sequence of moves in India follows a progressive logic. In May 2025, the company announced the establishment of its own office in New Delhi, the first step to establishing a permanent institutional presence in the country. At the time, Embraer stated that it intended to expand operations in the areas of defense, commercial aviation, executive aviation, services and support, in addition to the urban air mobility sector.
From the office came the agreements with Adani and now the contract with Bharat Forge, outlining a chain that begins with institutional representation, moves through industrial partnership, and culminates in the local supply of components. Each step reduces the distance between Embraer and the Indian market, creating ties that make the Brazilian manufacturer increasingly integrated into the country’s aerospace ecosystem. For India, which aims to develop its own industrial capacity in the aviation sector, this integration is as valuable as the aircraft themselves.
50 aircraft already fly in India with the Brazilian brand
Embraer is not starting from scratch in India. The Brazilian manufacturer already has about 50 aircraft and 11 different models in operation in the country, distributed across commercial aviation, defense, and executive aviation. Among the models used are the E175 and ERJ145 jets, operated by regional airline Star Air, as well as the Legacy 600 aircraft and the Netra airborne surveillance system, used by the Indian Air Force.
This installed base serves as a permanent showcase of Embraer’s capabilities in the Indian market. Each E175 operating regional routes for Star Air practically demonstrates the reliability and efficiency of the Brazilian product, while the Netra system proves that the company also has credentials in the military segment. For a market that will need hundreds of new aircraft in the coming decades, having models already in operation and pilots already trained significantly reduces the barrier to entry for new orders.
A bet that connects São José dos Campos to Pune and New Delhi
Embraer is transforming India from an occasional client into a long-term strategic partner. The contract with Bharat Forge for forged materials, the partnership with Adani for E175 assembly, the office in New Delhi, and the base of 50 aircraft in operation form a set of moves that position the Brazilian manufacturer as a protagonist in Indian regional aviation for at least the next two decades.
Do you believe Embraer can consolidate its position as the main supplier of regional aircraft in India? Tell us in the comments what you think of this expansion strategy, whether the establishment of an assembly line in the Asian country strengthens or risks the Brazilian industry, and how you see the competition with Boeing and Airbus for this market of 500 aircraft. We want to hear your opinion.
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