Airbus Defence and Space, on 13 September 2023, officially handed
over in fly-away condition the first of 56 C295 aircraft to the Indian Air
Force (IAF) to begin replacing its ageing Avro HS-748 fleet. The C295, in
transport configuration and with an indigenous electronic warfare suite, left Airbus’
production site in Seville, Spain, for Delhi, India, a few days later, piloted
by a joint IAF and Airbus crew.
“It
was only two years ago that we signed this contract with India, the largest
order in the history of the C295,” stated Jean-Brice Dumont, Airbus’ Head of
Military Air Systems, in 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. “Today, we are enhancing the capabilities of the Indian Air
Force and modernising its transport fleet by delivering the first aircraft on
schedule. This is the beginning of an exciting and long term journey with the
Indian Air Force.”
The
first 16 C295s of the 56 aircraft on order will be assembled at the San Pablo
Sur site in Seville, Spain, with the second aircraft due to be delivered in May
2024 and the next 14 rolled out at a rate of one per month until August 2025.
To
boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector in India, the remaining
40 C295s of the IAF order will be manufactured and assembled, in partnership
with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), at a Final Assembly Line (FAL) in
Vadodara in western India.
The
production of components of these aircraft has already started in the Main
Constituent Assembly (MCA) facility in Hyderabad, southern India. These parts
will be shipped to the Vadovara FAL, which is expected to be operational by
November 2024.
The
first ‘Make in India’ C295 will roll out of the Vadodara FAL in September 2026
in what will be a milestone for the Indian aerospace industry; the final
aircraft expected to be delivered to the IAF by August 2031.
With
283 orders from 41 operators, the C295 is the leader in its segment and “stands
out for its versatility”. It can carry up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers,
airdrop cargo, be used for medical evacuation and take off and land in short
and unpaved runways.
From left to right: Jean-Brice Dumont, HO Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and Space; IAF Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari; Dinesh K. Patnaik, India’s Ambassador to Spain; Francisco Sánchez Segura, Executive Vice President Airbus in Spain