India’s first C295
completed its maiden flight on Friday, marking a significant milestone
towards delivery scheduled for the second half of 2023.
The tactical
aircraft, which has a range of 5,630 km, took off from Seville, Spain on 5 May at 11:45 local
time and landed at 14:45 after 3 hours of flight.
India ordered 56 C295 aircraft in September 2021 to replace the
Indian Air Force’s legacy Avro fleet.
The first 16 aircraft will be assembled
in Seville and delivered to the customer in ‘fly-away’
condition.
The following 40 aircraft will be manufactured and
assembled by the Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of
an industrial partnership between the two companies.
This
programme will significantly contribute to developing the
country’s military industrial ecosystem from the manufacturing to
assembly, testing, to delivery and maintenance of the complete
lifecycle of the aircraft.
“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 world, this
programme exemplifies our commitment to improve the Indian Air
Force operational capabilities,” said Jean-Brice Dumont,
Head of Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and Space.
The C295 programme comprises a
total of 280 orders from 39 operators, making it an unmatched
aircraft in its weight and mission class.
