India's First C295 Completes Maiden Flight

(08/05/23)  India's first C295 completed its maiden flight on Friday, marking a significant milestone towards delivery scheduled for the second half of 2023.

The tactical aircraft, which has a range of 5,630 km, took off from Seville, Spain on 5 May at 11:45 local time and landed at 14:45 after 3 hours of flight.

India ordered 56 C295 aircraft in September 2021 to replace the Indian Air Force's legacy Avro fleet.

The first 16 aircraft will be assembled in Seville and delivered to the customer in ‘fly-away’ condition.

India's first C295 completed its maiden flight on Friday

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.

This programme will significantly contribute to developing the country’s military industrial ecosystem from the manufacturing to assembly, testing, to delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft.

“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 operational capabilities,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Head of Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and Space.

The C295 programme comprises a total of 280 orders from 39 operators, making it an unmatched aircraft in its weight and mission class.

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