The Indian Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has approved the procurement of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The C-295MW aircraft is a transport aircraft that will replace IAF’s ageing Avro aircraft. The aircraft can also conduct para drops of troops and cargo. The aircraft will be purchased from Airbus Defence and Space in Spain. The remaining 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India by TATA consortium within ten years of contract signing. In a statement, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) noted that 16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within four years of the contract signing.
This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. All 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite. This flight procurement programme is expected to provide a major boost to the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The project will give a boost to aerospace ecosystem in India wherein several MSMEs spread over the country will be involved in manufacturing of parts of the aircraft. The project will give a boost to aerospace ecosystem in India wherein several MSMEs spread over the country.
The C-295 is a medium tactical transport aircraft that was designed by the Spanish company CASA (now Airbus) in the 1990s as a development of the CASA-Nurtanio CN-235 with a stretched fuselage, 50% more payload capability and new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G turboprop engines. The C-295 is capable of performing a wide variety of missions effectively: tactical and logistical transport, parachute and cargo drop, medical evacuation, and maritime patrol. The C-295 is manufactured and assembled in the Airbus Defence and Space facilities in San Pablo Airport, located in Seville, Spain.
With the new C295W version equipped with winglets, the aircraft is capable of transporting more payload over larger distances in the hot and high conditions, resulting in fuel consumption savings of around 4% and increased safety margins in mountainous regions. High versatility, many variants, multiple missions, one aircraft. Most of the different variants can easily be re-configured to a transport version and back, due to the palletised modular mission systems. The robustness and versatility of the C295 makes it the ideal platform for any type of military or civic operations for the benefit of society.
