The first C295 for India has successfully completed its maiden flight, marking a significant milestone towards its delivery by the second half of 2023. The tactical aircraft took off from Seville, Spain, on the 5th May at 11:45 am local time (GMT+1) and landed at 14:45 pm after three hours of flight.
“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 (IAF) operational capabilities,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Head of Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and Space.
India acquired 56 C295 aircraft in September 2021 to replace the (IAF) legacy AVRO fleet. The first 16 aircraft will be assembled in Seville, Spain, 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.
The C295 Final Assembly Line being built in Gujarat is the first concrete, large-scale Make-in-India defence programme in the private sector that will unlock the industrial value chain of design, manufacturing, assembly, testing, delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft. This programme will significantly contribute towards developing the indigenous capabilities of Indian companies for an ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’.
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So now you will have the following in transport fleet
IL76/78
AN-32
C-130
C-17
Dornier-228
Avro-HS748 to be replaced by C295.
Instead of reducing the logistical footprint by having a standardized inventory the IAF keeps increasing it by citing mumbo-jumbo technical reasons.
Im very sure two types can fullfill all of the IAF”s transport and refueller needs.
Someone,somewhere are making huge amount of money by this multifarious deals.
When is the political hierachy going to wake up and firmly stop this nonsense going on in the IAF?