Eurocopter, which is eyeing to grab half of India’s civilian market by 2015, is expecting to sell 20 civilian helicopters worth $134.7 million in India this year, said Veve on the sidelines of an event to mark the formation of the Indian unit of the European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Company (EADS).

“The Indian helicopter industry has great potential for expansion, given the country’s expanding economy, its size and challenging terrain, as well as the industrial potential,” said Veve.

“Eurocopter is the world’s first major helicopter manufacturer to establish a subsidiary in India, which underscores our objective of being a key player in this very important marketplace,” she added.

The helicopter manufacturer, which seeks to benefit from the rising wealth in Asia’s third-largest economy, is planning to set up an engineering center in the southern Indian city of Bangalore next year, along with the opening of a new commercial office in Mumbai, another important business city of India.

The total revenues of European company, which is the world’s largest helicopter manufacturer, in Asia grew by 58 percent in 2009 to $1.25 billion — 20 percent of the group’s total.

The EADS’s third-largest unit by sales — after top-ranked Airbus SAS, the world’s biggest maker of commercial aircraft, and the defense and security division, which makes missiles, combat planes and military electronics — plans to set up repair facilities across India with government-owned Pawan Hans Helicopter and Hindustan Aeronautics.

The new EADS subsidiary, the 25th subsidiary established worldwide by Eurocopter and the 10th in Asia, is headquartered in New Delhi and has an existing facility in Bangalore for the management of industrial activity.

“The Indian helicopter sector has been growing at an annual rate of 20 percent, and our ambition is to become this country’s No 1 supplier for the civilian, government and para-public markets,” said Joseph Saporito, Eurocopter’s Executive Vice-President, commercial helicopters.

Eurocopter has 23 civil and government customers currently operating its helicopter products in India, with these rotary-wing aircraft performing duties that range from the support of offshore oil and gas drilling to VIP, corporate and passenger transportation.

The company is also working with Indian institutions, companies and associations to develop new markets such as law enforcement, helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS), disaster management and utility, the release said.

The requirement of helicopters in the country is expected to increase with the use of helicopters in heli-tourism, adventure sports, mountaineering/trekking, point-to-point heli-services to bypass traffic congestion on the road, connecting remote areas and islands in North east, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep, religious places etc.

Eurocopter, which opened a subsidiary in Thailand last December, also intends to open a new MRO center and begin operating an EC 225/725 simulator in Malaysia this year. The company also is considering moving Eurocopter Southeast Asia’s Singapore headquarters to Seletar Airport.