Airbus and Tata complete maiden flight of first Indian-made C295 transport

The aircraft is the first of 40 C295 transports set to be built in India under a 2021 deal covering 56 aircraft for the Indian air force.

The first Airbus C295 transport assembled in India has logged its maiden flight.

The test flight took place on 10 June from the Tata-run assembly line in the Gujarat city of Vadodara. Airbus confirms the milestone, describing the C295 as the first military aircraft to be manufactured in India by a private sector company.

“This maiden test flight is a crucial step in the aircraft’s post-production testing process,” Airbus says. “As the first of 40 aircraft to be built in India, the test flight advances the programme’s objective of delivering the first made-in-India C295 aircraft this year to the Indian Air Force.”

New Delhi signed a contract with Airbus in 2021 covering 56 C295 transports, 16 of which have already been delivered to the Indian air force. Those aircraft were assembled by Airbus in Seville, Spain.

The remaining 40 are set to be produced at Vadodara by the joint venture between the European airframer and Tata Advanced Systems.

The inaugural aircraft from that line had been displayed on the ground in May.

Video of the 10 June test flight shows the twin-engined turboprop has not yet received its final coat of paint, although the Indian air force’s roundel, tail flash and registration number (CA 7117) are in place.

The C295 acquisition is meant to replace India’s aged fleet of Avro Hawker Siddeley HS748s, which were built by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics corporation.

That programme is separate from India’s Medium Transport Aircraft effort, which is seeking 60-80 aircraft to replace the country’s fleet of Soviet-era Ilyushin Il-76 and Antonov An-32 military airlifters.

Airbus is also expected to compete for that programme using its A400M platform, while the USA’s Lockheed Martin and Brazilian manufacturer Embraer will offer the C-130J and C-390, respectively.