First Airbus C295 for India successfully completes its maiden flight

Category : Defense Published on: May 13 2023

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The first C295 for India has successfully completed its maiden flight, marking a significant milestone towards its delivery by the second half of 2023.
This first flight represents a significant accomplishment for the first Make in India aerospace programme.
India acquired 56 C295 aircraft in September 2021 to replace the (IAF) legacy AVRO fleet.
In September 2021, the defence ministry signed a ₹21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defence and Space for 56 C295 planes to give a push to the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India campaign).
Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Airbus Defence and Space are jointly executing the programme.
As part of the contract, 16 C295 aircraft will be delivered by Airbus in flyaway condition from Spain, and the remaining 40 will be manufactured in India.
The 16 flyaway aircraft are scheduled to be delivered between September 2023 and August 2025, while the first Made in India C295 will roll out of the new facility in September 2026 and the remaining 39 by August 2031.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 30, 2022, laid the foundation stone of a manufacturing facility being set up by the Tata-Airbus consortium at Vadodara in Gujarat for the C295 aircraft.
The C295 can carry up to nine tonnes of payload or 71 personnel (or 45 paratroopers) and has a maximum speed of 480kmph. It can also operate from short or unprepared airstrips, has a rear ramp for paradropping troops and cargo, and will strengthen the logistics capabilities of IAF.