Airbus Defence and Space has formally handed over the first of 56 C295 aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in fly-away condition. This will allow the IAF to begin replacing its ageing fleet of Avros-748 aircraft.
The C295, which will be flown by a crew comprised of crews from both the Indian Air Force and Airbus, will soon depart the production facility of Airbus in Seville, Spain, for Delhi, India. The aircraft will be in transport mode and will be equipped with an electronic warfare (EW) suite developed in India.
According to Jean-Brice Dumont, Head of Airbus’ Military Air Systems, during a delivery ceremony held in Seville in the presence of India’s Ambassador to Spain, Dinesh K. Patnaik and IAF Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, the company signed this contract with India only two years ago. It was the largest order in the history of the C295 and the largest order ever placed with the company.
At the San Pablo Sur location in Seville, Spain, the first 16 of the 56 C295s that have been ordered will be put together. The second aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in May 2024, and the subsequent 14 will be rolled out at a rate of one per month until August 2025.
The first “Make in India” C295 will be produced in 2026
The remaining 40 C295s that the IAF ordered will be built and assembled at a Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vadodara, located in western India. This will be done in conjunction with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), which will help India become more self-sufficient in the defence manufacturing industry.
In the facility known as the Main Constituent Assembly (MCA), located in Hyderabad, in southern India, manufacturing of these aircraft components has already begun. These components will be sent to the Vadovara FAL, which will be operational in November 2024 at the earliest.
This would be a watershed moment for the Indian aerospace sector when the first ‘Make in India’ C295 rolls out of the Vadodara FAL in September 2026. The final aircraft is slated to be delivered to the Indian Air Force in August 2031.
The C295 is the clear leader in its market and shines for its versatility, as evidenced by the fact that it has received 283 orders from 41 operators. It can transport up to 71 soldiers or 50 paratroopers, can be used for airdropping cargo, can be put to use for medical evacuation, and can take off and land on short runways that are not paved.
