The Indian Air Force has received the first of the 56 Airbus C295 aircraft it ordered as a replacement for its aging Avro 748 fleet.
Airbus Defence and Space said India’s initial 16 orders of the new-generation tactical airlifter will be assembled at its San Pablo Sur plant in Seville, Spain, where IAF Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari received one unit in flyaway condition on Wednesday. A second aircraft is set for delivery in May 2024, with the next 14 rolling out one unit per month till August 2025.
IAF’s remaining 40 C295s will be fulfilled at a local final assembly line in Vadodara, with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd as Airbus’ partner. Parts manufacturing for the first made-in-India C295s has already started in Hyderabad for delivery to the Vadodara facility, which is expected to be operational starting November.
According to Airbus, the Vadodara plant is scheduled to roll out its first C295 in September 2026, with final delivery of the remaining orders expected by August 2031.
The arrival of the Airbus order comes a month after news that the IAF plans to order 100 additional Tejas Mark-1A jet fighters from Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. The light combat aircraft will replace IAF’s aging MiG-21 fighter aircraft fleet, according to India Today.