India’s first domestically assembled Airbus C-295 system appears close to rollout from the Tata-Airbus military transport aircraft plant in Gujarat.
Videos circulating online showed a nearly completed platform inside the site’s final assembly line in Vadodara.
Neither the South Asian government, industry partners, nor the Indian Air Force has formally confirmed the launch schedule, but the aircraft could emerge ahead of the previously expected September 2026 target, according to local media.
The milestone is part of a $2.5-billion deal with Airbus in 2021 for 56 C-295s to replace the Indian Air Force’s 1960s-era Avro Hawker Siddeley 748 airliners.
The Spanish firm already delivered the first 16 planes under the order from Seville, while the company continues the assembly of the remaining 40 in India in collaboration with Tata Advanced Systems.
Sources noted that the Gujarat achievement marks the first time a private Indian company has manufactured a military aircraft domestically, a milestone for the nation’s defense sector and its “Make in India” initiative as production expands beyond state-run firms.
The initiative has also bolstered the country’s aerospace supply chain, with thousands of components now produced locally by Indian small business and supplier networks.
The C-295 Aircraft
The Airbus C-295 is designed for logistics flights, troop transport, medical evacuation, humanitarian assistance, and special operations.
It is built with a short takeoff and landing capability to sustain activities from rugged and underdeveloped airstrips.
The plane is 24 meters (79 feet) long and has a wingspan of 26 meters (85 feet). It transports over 70 personnel and has 9,250 kilograms (20,393 pounds) of payload capacity.
The C-295 is fitted with twin Part & Whitney PW127G turboprop engines with an output of 2,644 horsepower each, a six-bladed Hamilton Sundstrand propeller, six hardpoints, and a Honeywell weather radar.
The platform has a maximum speed of 482 kilometers (300 miles) per hour, a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles), and a service ceiling of 9,145 meters (30,000 feet).
