The first of 56 C295 military transport turboprops ordered by the Indian Air Force (IAF) was unveiled on April 18 by Airbus Defense and Space, in Getafe, Spain – where the activities of the CASA division are concentrated.
The massive purchase of military aircraft was confirmed by New Delhi in September 2021. As part of the agreement with Airbus, the planes will be supplied in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems, an Indian group that will be responsible for assembling 40 turboprops in India.
Delivery of the first aircraft to the IAF fleet is scheduled for the second half of 2023.
Tata will be the first private company in India to assemble an aircraft in the country. Until then, only state-owned manufacturers such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) had assembled aircraft on Indian soil.
The first 16 C295s in the Indian order will be manufactured by Airbus in Spain and delivered by 2025. They will feature an electronic warfare avionics suite developed in India.
IAF aircraft are designed to carry 70 passengers or 50 paratroopers with full equipment, in addition to performing various missions such as medical support and medevac.
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The C295 will replace the HAL-748, an Indian license-produced version of the UK-designed Avro 748.
India also evaluates the Embraer C-390 Millennium
Indian Air Force plus transport aircraft in addition to Airbus-CASA’s C295. In March, the Indian government asked Embraer for information about the C-390 Millennium airlifter, from which it can order between 60 and 80 aircraft.
An agreement for the C-390 could occur along the same lines as the purchase of the C295 from Airbus, involving Indian suppliers in the production of the aircraft or even opening an additional production line in the country.
See also: Airbus will seek partnerships with Embraer in defense and space projects
