‘Made in India’ Airbus C-295 aircraft completes first test flight from Vadodara facility | Watch

The first "Made in India" Airbus C-295 military transport aircraft successfully completed its maiden test flight on Wednesday. The aircraft took off from the Tata-Airbus Final Assembly Line (FAL) facility in Vadodara, Gujarat, executing crucial post-production manoeuvres to evaluate its flight systems.

The successful sortie paves the way for the aircraft to be officially delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF) later this year.

Private sector takes the lead

The milestone marks a big shift in India’s defence setup.

For decades, domestic military aviation remained entirely under the monopoly of public-sector firms. The C-295 India program represents the first time a private-sector consortium, led by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) in partnership with European major Airbus Defence and Space, has assembled a military aircraft from scratch within the country.

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"The achievement reinforces India's growing aerospace capabilities and underscores the IAF's commitment to fostering indigenous defense capability under the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat," the Indian Air Force noted in a statement commending the engineering teams.

Modernising the skies

The flight is part of a Rs 21,935 crore contract signed in 2021 to secure 56 C-295 tactical transport aircraft to replace the IAF's ageing Avro-748 fleet. While the initial 16 aircraft are being delivered in "fly-away" condition from Spain, the remaining 40 units are being manufactured locally at the Vadodara plant.

The multi-role tactical airlifter can transport up to 71 troops, 48 paratroopers, or 24 medical evacuation stretchers. Equipped with short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities, the turboprop aircraft is specially tailored to operate from rugged, unpaved airstrips in India's remote, mountainous border regions.