The Indian Air Force (IAF) has taken delivery of the C-295 transport aircraft, part of a Make in India project aimed at upgrading the IAF’s transport fleet. The delivery took place at the Vadodara air base in Gujarat, India, a week after Airbus Defence and Space handed over the plane to the IAF in Spain. Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, the IAF chief, received the aircraft in Spain, and it was flown to Vadodara by a joint IAF-Airbus crew.
The C-295 is set to enhance the IAF’s logistics capabilities, especially in forward areas near the contested border with China, and will replace the aging Avro transport aircraft that have been in service since the 1960s. The first C-295 will be formally inducted into the IAF at the Hindan Airbase on September 25, and it is expected to participate in the Air Force Day parade on October 8. The IAF will establish its first squadron of C-295s in Vadodara.
The C-295 procurement project involves a contract with Airbus for 56 aircraft to promote self-reliance in India’s defense manufacturing sector. Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus are jointly executing the program, with Airbus delivering 16 aircraft in flyaway condition and the remaining aircraft assembled in India at the Tata facility in Vadodara.
The second C-295 is in final assembly in Spain and is expected to be delivered in May 2024, with the last of the 16 flyaway aircraft arriving by August 2025. The first “Made in India” C-295 is set to roll out of the Vadodara facility in September 2026, and the remaining 39 aircraft will be delivered by August 2031.
