Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez jointly inaugurated the TATA Aircraft Complex for manufacturing C-295 aircraft at TATA Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) Campus in Vadodara of Gujarat on Monday. This is the first private sector Final Assembly Line (FAL) for military aircraft in India.
Under the C-295 programme, as many as 56 aircraft are to be delivered to IAF, out of which 16 are being given directly by Airbus from Spain and the remaining 40 are to be made in India. Tata Advanced Systems will produce 40 fly-away C-295 aircraft from its facility. They will also provide MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) support and service for the total 56 aircraft that will be procured by IAF.
What makes the aircraft special
Designed for a variety of roles, including cargo and personnel transport, medical evacuation, maritime patrol, and electronic signals intelligence operations, C-295 medium–lift tactical transport airport aircraft will replace the Indian Air Force's fleet of ageing Avro-748 planes that entered the service over six decades ago. As of now, the IAF has already inducted six C-295 aircraft in its Vadodara-based 11 Squadron.
"This is much better than the AN32 (Antonov An-32 aircraft) performance. While the AN32, the getting in and getting out is from the side doors like any commercial aeroplane, the C295 has a ramp loading equipment, para assault landing, short field landing, high altitude operations, valley flying, and rescue becomes very easy," Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor (Retd) told news agency ANI.
The C-295 is known to be a superior aircraft used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers. They are also used for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to heavier aircraft.
With the induction of these aircraft, the ability of the IAF to airdrop paratroops and loads will be majorly enhanced. They are capable of performing special missions as well as disaster response and maritime patrol duties, apart from enhancing IAF's casualty or medical evacuation capabilities.
According to Airbus, “With the longest endurance in its class, the C295 provides more than 11 hours of persistent surveillance. Its rear ramp enables easy deployment of life rafts, and the fuselage’s bubble windows ensure excellent visual coverage.”
All the 56 aircraft of the IAF, which combine advanced technology with operational flexibility, will be equipped with an electronic warfare suite that will be indigenously manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited, and Bharat Dynamics Limited, news agency PTI reported, citing sources.
The first C-295 is likely to roll out of the plant in September 2026.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a tweet, called the C-295 project "a major achievement for the Indian private sector," and added, "The project will give a significant boost to India's expanding aerospace ecosystem."