Airbus delivers first C295 to Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is scheduled to have all 56 ordered Airbus C295s in service by August 2031. (Airbus Defence and Space)

Airbus Defence and Space has handed over the first of 56 C295 transport aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

According to Airbus Defence and Space, the C295 was delivered on 13 September in transport configuration and with an indigenous electronic warfare (EW) suite. Th aircraft “will leave Airbus' production site in Seville, Spain, for Delhi, India, in the next few days, piloted by a joint IAF-Airbus crew”, the company said in a statement.

The aircraft was received at Seville by Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, chief of the Air Staff, IAF.

At a press conference on 13 September, ACM Chaudhari said that “strategic airlift and tactical airlift form a huge part of the [IAF's] force projection capability. [Be it] the ability to deploy troops rapidly; ability to operate from short, small, …[or] austere airfields and landing grounds, the [C295] gives a … boost to our [ability to] move our forces to the front line when required”.

In a separate statement, ACM Chaudhari added that the aircraft will be used for special operations, airborne assault, and air logistics.

The first 16 of 56 C295s on order will be assembled at the San Pablo Sur site in Seville, Spain. According to Airbus Defence and Space, the second C295 is scheduled to be delivered in May 2024. The following “14 will be rolled out at a rate of one per month until August 2025”, the company added.