The Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted the first C-295 transport aircraft in a formal ceremony at the Hindan Air Force Station in Uttar Pradesh, days after it received the delivery of the aircraft at the Airbus facility in Seville, Spain.
The first IAF squadron to be equipped with the aircraft, No. 11 Squadron, also named The Rhinos, is based in Vadodara. The ‘Sarv Dharm Puja’ induction ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari.
“This medium lift tactical aircraft is capable of taking off and landing from unprepared landing grounds and it will replace the HS-748 Avro aircraft. The induction of C-295 will bolster medium lift tactical capability of the IAF. The Defence and Aerospace sectors are the two important pillars for making India self-reliant in coming years,” Singh 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.
The first 16 C295s of the 56 aircraft on order will be assembled at the San Pablo Sur site in Seville, 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.
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 aircraft will be manufactured under the 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, while the final aircraft is expected to be delivered to the IAF by August 2031.
The defence minister also inaugurated the first-ever drone exhibition, ‘Bharat Drone Shakti 2023’, at the Hindan Air Force Station, Ghaziabad.
“Drones today can be employed for a variety of military and civil applications. India is fast emerging as a major drone hub by 2030,” he said on X.
Bharat Drone Shakti 2023 is a first-of-its-kind drone exhibition-cum-display jointly organised by the IAF and the Drone Federation of India (DFI).
The C-295 is known to be a superior aircraft used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers, and for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft.
The aircraft can airdrop paratroops and loads, and also be used for casualty or medical evacuation. It is capable of performing special missions as well as disaster response and maritime patrol duties.
