India gets its first C-295 aircraft: How it will boost IAF’s defence prowess

India got its first C-295 transport aircraft today (13 September), providing a crucial boost to the nation’s defence capabilities. Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari is in Spain’s Seville city to receive the first plane from aircraft manufacturer Airbus’ facility. Defence officials told news agency ANI that the military transport aircraft will be flown to India after it is handed over to the IAF chief. According to ThePrint report, a formal induction ceremony of the aircraft will take place at Hindon Air Force Station later in September.

#WATCH | Indian C-295 takes off from Seville airfield in Spain with Indian Air Force chief onboard

Group Captain PS Negi will be flying the aircraft to India with stopovers at Malta, Egypt and Bahrain before landing at Vadodara air base in India. pic.twitter.com/QdDBvByDUk

— ANI (@ANI) September 13, 2023

In 2021, the defence ministry signed a Rs 21,935 crore deal with Airbus and Space SA, Spain, to procure 56 C-295MW transport aircraft to replace IAF’s Avro fleet. Let’s take a look at the pact and how C-295 aircraft will bolster India’s defences. Historic deal Under the pact, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition, manufactured at its facility in Seville. After the IAF gets the first aircraft today, the second is expected to be delivered by May 2024, according to Indian Express. The IAF will receive the total fleet by September 2025, reported ThePrint. The remaining 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India in collaboration with Airbus. The first made-in-India aircraft will be delivered in 2026, while the rest 39 by 2031, reported ThePrint. Notably, this is the first time that a military aircraft will be produced by a private Indian company. According to Jorge Tamarit, head of the C-295 India programme, this will be the first time that Airbus will have a “complete production system outside Spain”, reported Indian Express. TASL, which set up a factory in Telangana’s Hyderabad last year, will produce major components such as fuselage at this facility. All parts produced in Hyderabad will be shifted to the factory in Gujarat’s Vadodara next year. “The FAL (Final Assembly Line) in Vadodara will be ready by mid-2024 and start production by November 2024,” Tamarit said in July, as per The Hindu. Six IAF pilots have already received training at the Airbus facility in Seville. In May, the first C295 developed for India successfully took its maiden flight from the Spanish city. Features of C-295 aircraft Airbus’ C-295 aircraft can carry up to nine tonnes of cargo. The military plane, with the capacity to transport 71 troops, has a cruising speed of 260 knots or around 481 kilometres per hour.

C-295, which can fly at a height of up to 30,000 feet, can operate on short and unpaved runways.

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“The C295 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G turboprop engines that provide excellent manoeuvrability, outstanding hot-and-high performance, with fuel consumption for a very long endurance of up to 13 hours aloft,” according to the Airbus website. [caption id=“attachment_13118662” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Airbus’ C-295 aircraft has a cruising speed of 260 knots or around 481 kilometres per hour. Image Courtesy: Airbus.com[/caption] It has a ramp door in the rear for para-dropping of troops and cargo, as per a Times of India (TOI) report. In case of a medical evacuation, the aircraft can accommodate 24 stretchers and seven medical attendants, as per the Airbus’ website. The aircraft acquired by India will be equipped with indigenous radar warning receivers and missile approach warning systems developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) will provide a countermeasure dispensing system for the military planes, reported Indian Express.  How C-295 aircraft will benefit India This deal is a crucial push for the Centre’s Make-in-India initiative, making the IAF the largest operator of the C-295 aircraft . The military aircraft will replace the ageing Avro-748 planes procured in the 1960s. According to The Hindu, more than 14,000 parts of the C-295 will be made in India and about 3,500 components will be industrialised every year. [caption id=“attachment_13118722” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A view of the interior of a Casa C-295 airplane in Colombia’s Bogota in 2008. Reuters File Photo[/caption] “The C-295 final assembly line in India is the first concrete, large-scale Make-in-India defence programme in the private sector that will unlock the industrial value chain of design, manufacturing, assembly, testing, delivery, and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft,” Hindustan Times (HT) reported in July citing officials. As per the IAF, the project will strengthen India’s aerospace ecosystem, wherein several MSMEs spread across the country will produce components of the aircraft, noted India Today. This will reportedly generate 15,000 high-skilled jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs in the next decade. It is also expected to reduce import dependency by enhancing domestic aviation manufacturing. Amid potential threats from China and Pakistan, the multi-role tactical airlifter will play a significant role in keeping India’s defences strong. With inputs from agencies