The first Airbus C295 MW military transport aircraft assembled in India by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) under license from Airbus completed its maiden flight in June 2026, months ahead of schedule. This is the first instance of a military aircraft assembled at a private sector facility taking to the air in India.
The first C295 assembled in India was originally to have rolled out of the Vadodara FAL in September 2026.
The aircraft will be delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF) later this year and is the first of 40 aircraft being assembled at the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vadodara, Gujarat.
New Delhi ordered 56 C295 MW aircraft in September 2021, with deliveries to be completed by August 2031. Airbus delivered the first 16 aircraft in “fly-away” condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain.
The first aircraft was delivered in September 2023 and formally inducted into the IAF’s No. 11 Squadron (The Rhinos), based at Vadodara.
The last of 16 aircraft was delivered to the IAF in August 2025.
Airbus describes the Indian C295 programme as the first occasion on which it has transferred a complete aircraft production system outside Europe.
TASL is the Indian Aircraft Contractor (IAC) for the programme, leading a consortium responsible for the manufacture of detail parts, engineering activities and final assembly of the aircraft. Over 85% of the structural components are being manufactured in India, along with 13,000 detail parts sourced domestically.
A key distinction on Indian C295 MWs is the integration of an indigenous self-protection suite comprising radar warning systems, missile warning sensors and countermeasure dispenser systems supplied by state-owned firm Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
Key structures and parts of the C295 are integrated at TASL’s Main Component Assembly (MCA) facility in Hyderabad and then shipped to the Vadodara FAL, where the aircraft are assembled and then delivered to the IAF.
The C295s will replace the IAF’s 1960s-vintage HS-748 ‘Avro’ transport aircraft.
