India’s C295 Airbus Completes Maiden Flight; IAF to Have 1st Aircraft in Sept

The first C295 for India successfully completed its maiden flight in Spain. This aircraft will be delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the second half of 2023.

As per reports, the tactical transport aircraft took off from Seville, Spain, on the 5th May at 11:45 am local time (GMT+1) and after a three hour flight landed at 14:45 pm.

“This first flight represents a significant accomplishment for the first Make in India aerospace programme. With the Indian Air Force set to become the largest operator of the C295 in the in the world, this programme exemplifies our commitment to improve the Indian Air Force (IAF) operational capabilities,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Head of Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and Space.

India acquired 56 C295 transport aircrafts in September 2021 to replace the (IAF) legacy AVRO fleet. The first batch of sixteen C295 aircraft will be assembled in Seville, Spain. The rest 40 aircrafts will be manufactured and assembled by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.

The C295 Final Assembly Line is being built up in Gujarat. It is the first concrete, large-scale Make-in-India defence programme in the private sector. This project is envisioned as the stepping stone to unlock the industrial value chain of design, manufacturing, assembly, testing, delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft.