The Indian Air Force (IAF) on May 3, 2024 received delivery of the second of the 56 C295 aircraft, which are set to replace its ageing Avro-748 fleet, the officials said. In September 2021, India formalised the acquisition of 56 Airbus C295 aircraft to replace the legacy Avro fleet of the IAF at a cost of Rs 21,935 crore.
In a statement, Airbus Defence and Space said that of the total 56 aircraft ordered by the Indian customer, 16 will be produced by Airbus in Seville, Spain. 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 Gujarat’s Vadodara.
“The story continues: the 2nd C295 for India has been delivered to the Indian Air Force. Of the total 56 aircraft ordered by the Indian customer, 16 will be produced by Airbus in Seville, Spain. As part of an industrial partnership, the remaining 40 are going to be produced by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in the C295 Final Assembly Line in Vadodara in Western India,” it said.
The aircraft will be manufactured under India’s first-ever ‘Make in India’ Aerospace programme in the private sector. For the longest time, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has had a monopoly over the manufacture of military aircraft in India.
The first India-made C295 will roll out of the Vadodara factory in September 2026. “Mark your calendars: The first ‘Make in India’ C295 is scheduled to roll out of the Vadodara plant in September 2026,” the statement added.
The Indian Defence Ministry and Airbus Defence and Space, Spain, signed a contract for the procurement of 56 C-295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force in September 2021. The C-295MW aircraft is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and paradropping of troops and cargo. Sixteen aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of the signing of the contract, and forty aircraft will be manufactured in India by the TATA Consortium within 10 years of the signing of the contract.
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