India To Receive C-295 Military Aircraft From Spain Today | Know All About the Airlifter

India will get its first C-295 military aircraft today. As a part of a deal signed for 56 such aircraft, the country is going to get its first one today. A total of 16 such aircraft will be delivered by Spain, while rest 40 will be produced in Vadodara.

The chief of Air Force is in Spain to take delivery of the aircraft. A C-295 is a transport aircraft that has short takeoff and landing capability.

The aircraft is likely to land in Hindon airbase in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad on September 25.

In September last year, India sealed an over Rs 21,000 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C-295 aircraft to replace the ageing Avro-748 planes of the IAF.

Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain within four years and the subsequent 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.

All About The Airlifter

— It is capable of carrying up to nine tonnes of payload or as many as 71 troops at a maximum cruise speed of 260 kts.

— Its flexibility is the capability of being equipped for air-to-air refueling of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

— Aircraft is fitted with a retractable landing gear and features an unobstructed 12.69-meter-long pressurized cabin. The C-295 cruises at altitudes up to 30,000 ft.

— It has remarkable short take-off & landing (STOL) performance from unpaved, soft, and sandy/grass airstrips.

According to Airbus, the C-295 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G turboprop engines that provide excellent manoeuvrability, outstanding hot-and-high performance, with fuel consumption for a very long endurance of up to 13 hours aloft.