Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari – the chief of the Indian Air Force, would be in Spain this week where he would receive the first C-295 transport plane made for India by global aircraft manufacturer Airbus for India at a facility in Seville. The Indian Air Force has signed a contract for 56 of these planes of which 16 would be made in Spain while the remaining 40 would be produced by the joint venture of Tata and Airbus in their facility in Vadodara, Gujarat. “The IAF chief would receive the first aircraft from Airbus at their facility in Seville, Spain on Wednesday. The aircraft would be flying to India from there after the ceremony,” defence officials told ANI.

The aircraft is the first of the 16 planes that India has ordered. The aircraft is expected to be inducted formally into the service at a ceremony in Hindan around September last week. The Indian Air Force chief was personally involved in the contract at important stages as the Deputy Chief of Air Staff where he was leading the contract negotiations.

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The Indian Defence Ministry and Airbus Defence and Space, Spain signed a contract for procurement of 56 C-295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force in September 2021. C-295MW aircraft is a transport aircraft of 5-10 Tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of IAF.

The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops and cargo.16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of the signing of the contract and forty aircraft will be manufactured in India by TATA Consortium within ten years of the signing of the contract.

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This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. All 56 aircraft will be installed with an indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite. The project will give a boost to the aerospace ecosystem in India wherein several MSMEs spread over the country will be involved in the manufacturing of parts of the aircraft.

The programme will provide a major boost to the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ of the Government as it offers a unique opportunity for the Indian Private Sector to enter into technology-intensive and highly competitive aviation Industry. The project is expected to augment domestic aviation manufacturing resulting in reduced import dependence and an expected increase in exports.