The IAF on Friday received delivery of the second of the 56 C295 aircraft, which are set to replace its ageing Avro-748 fleet, the officials said.
IAF Takes Delivery of second C295 Transport Aircraft
The IAF on Friday 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 aircraft will be manufactured under India’s first-ever ‘Make in India’ Aerospace programme in the private sector. For the longest time, 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.
Indian Navy, Coast Guard To Get 15 Maritime Patrol Aircraft Based On Airbus C-295
The Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) have been granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to purchase 15 maritime patrol aircraft for about $3.5 billion. The Navy will purchase nine Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft while the ICG will purchase six Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMMA). These aircraft will be based on the Airbus C-295 transport, 56 of which had been earlier ordered by the Air Force. 40 of the 56 aircraft are to be made in India by Tata Advanced Systems. The bulk of the 15 MPAs will also be made in India, once the order is placed.
