India's acquisition of 56 Airbus C295s will allow it to replace the ageing Avro 748s across three squadrons in the air force. (Airbus)
The first of 56 Airbus C295 military transports on order by the Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully completed its maiden flight.
According to Airbus, the aircraft conducted a successful take-off on 5 May from Seville, Spain, at 1145 h local time. It landed at 1445 h local time, following a three-hour flight.
Jean-Brice Dumont, head of Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and Space, said that the “programme exemplifies [Airbus'] commitment to improve the Indian Air Force (IAF) operational capabilities”. He added that the flight reflects an “accomplishment for the first ‘Make in India' aerospace programme”.
It is unclear how many additional flight tests this aircraft will conduct. An Airbus spokesperson told Janes that the company “cannot disclose details regarding flight tests”.
“This also depends on the requirements to customise the aircraft from each of the customers. In this case, since this is the first aircraft produced out of the 16+40, it will require a wider number of flights compared to the rest of the aircraft produced for India,” the spokesperson said.
This first aircraft will be delivered to the IAF by the end of 2023, the spokesperson added.
The successful test flight comes a few days after Airbus announced that the first batch of IAF pilots had arrived in Seville for flight training. Based on photographs of the group released by Airbus, it appears the first batch comprises at least six pilots, including the unit commander. Squadron insignia worn by the pilots show that they belong to the IAF's No 11 Squadron.
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