New Delhi:The first C-295 medium tactical transport aircraft was inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh formally inducted the transport aircraft in the presence of Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and other top military officials in Ghaziabad.The new generation C295 from Airbus is a highly versatile tactical transport that is tailored for missions that range from carrying troops and cargo to maritime patrol to signals intelligence and medical evacuation.
The C-295 aircraft is capable of carrying up to nine tonnes of payload or as many as 71 troops at a maximum cruise speed of 260 knots.Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on September 13 received the first of the 56 C295 transport aircraft two years after India sealed a ₹21,935-crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure the jets to replace its ageing Avro–748 fleets.Under the deal, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville by 2025 and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.The production of components of these aircraft has already started in the Main Constituent Assembly (MCA) facility in Hyderabad.
