In India, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved the procurement of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft. A total of 40 aircraft will be manufactured in the country.
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Polish Air Force C-295 (Picture source: Gerard van der Schaaf)
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of the Central Government of India discusses, debates and is the final decision-making body on senior appointments in the national security apparatus, defence policy and expenditure, and generally all matters of India's national security. On September 8, it approved the procurement of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft from Spain's Airbus Defence and Space for the Indian Air Force.
“Sixteen aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of signing of the contract and forty aircraft will be manufactured in India by TATA Consortium within ten years of signing of the contract,” said the Ministry of Defence in a statement. “All the 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous electronic warfare suite,” said the defence ministry.
The new C-295 military transport aircraft will replace the Avro-748 that entered in service with the Indian Air Force, in the early 1960s.The Avro-748 a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its dissolution.
The C-295 is a twin-turboprop tactical military transport aircraft manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space in Spain. The aircraft is able to conduct multi-role operations worldwide under all weather conditions. It is fully certified and routinely operates day and night in combat missions in all weather extremes, from desert to maritime environments, from extremely hot to extremely cold temperatures.
The C-295 can be used to transport cargo or personnel with a maximum payload capacity of 9,250 kg. It can be also configured to support multiple missions including VIP Transport, medical evacuation, military operations, air-to-air refueling as well as civic and humanitarian missions.
