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C-295 may be part of Air Force Day flypast; Gujarat to house 1st squadron
The Indian Air Force (IAF)’s newest transport aircraft, the C-295, is expected to be the centrepiece of the upcoming Air Force Day parade
New Delhi The Indian Air Force (IAF)’s newest transport aircraft, the C-295, is expected to be the centrepiece of the upcoming Air Force Day parade, and the IAF will raise its first squadron of the tactical airlifters at the Vadodara air base in Gujarat, officials aware of the matter said on Thursday, requesting anonymity.
Read here: Indian Air Force takes delivery of first C-295 aircraft from Airbus in Spain
The C-295s will boost the air force’s logistics capabilities to meet mission requirements in forward areas, including those near the contested border with China, and replace its ageing fleet of Avro transport aircraft that entered service in the early 1960s, said one of the officials.
Airbus Defence and Space on Wednesday handed over to the IAF its first C-295 aircraft in Seville, Spain. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari took the delivery of the plane, part of a ₹21,935-crore Make in India project to upgrade the IAF’s transport fleet, at a ceremony held at Airbus’s San Pablo site.
The first aircraft, which will be formally inducted into IAF at the Hindan air base on September 25, is likely to take part in this year’s Air Force Day parade to be held at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on October 8, when the IAF celebrates its 91st anniversary, said a second official.
The Air Force Day parade was traditionally held at the Hindan Air base till 2021 before the event was taken outside the national capital. It was held in Chandigarh last year in line with the new tradition of the tri-services organising their flagship ceremonial events in other parts of the country.
The first squadron will be raised in Vadodara as the IAF wants the initial batch of aircraft to be based near the C-295 production facility there. A C-295 squadron will consist of 10 to 12 aircraft, the officials said.
The delivery of the first C-295 came two years after the defence ministry signed a contract with Airbus for 56 planes to boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector. Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus are jointly executing the programme. The European plane maker will deliver 16 planes in flyaway condition, while the rest will be assembled in India at the Tata facility in Vadodara.
IAF’s second C-295 is in final assembly at in Seville, and will be delivered in May 2024. The last of the 16 flyaway aircraft will be delivered to IAF by August 2025, while the first “made in India” C-295 will roll out of the Vadodara facility in September 2026 and the remaining 39 by August 2031.
“The delivery of the first plane marks the beginning of a new era wherein we will be manufacturing 40 of these aircraft in India. This starts a new era where we will be manufacturing military aircraft completely in India,” Chaudhari said on Wednesday.
Read here: Airbus to deliver 1st C-295 aircraft to IAF on September 13
The production of components of these aircraft has already started at the main constituent assembly for the C-295 set up by Tata at Hyderabad, while the final assembly line in Vadodara will be operational in November 2024. The Hyderabad facility will focus on manufacturing and assembly of C-295 parts that will go into building the full aircraft at Vadodara.
In October 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Vadodara facility. The C-295 will be the first military aircraft to be manufactured in India by a private consortium.
