External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Wednesday announced that the first Made in India C-295 aircraft is expected to roll out of the Airbus-Tata final assembly factory in Vadodara, Gujarat, before September this year. The announcement came during a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares of Spain, underlining the deeper defence industrial collaboration between the two countries.
Jaishankar said the milestone reflects not just production progress, but “the growing depth of our defence industrial collaboration and our commitment to build resilient manufacturing capabilities.”
India and Spain jointly inaugurated the Airbus-Tata C-295 Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vadodara in October 2024, a facility developed under the Make in India aerospace initiative aimed at boosting domestic defence manufacturing.
What Is The C-295 And What’s Its Role With The IAF?
The Airbus C-295 is a medium-range, twin-engine, turboprop tactical transport aircraft designed for troop and equipment movement, humanitarian missions and tactical deployment. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered 56 C-295 aircraft under a contract signed in September 2021 with Airbus Defence and Space.
Under the contract, 16 aircraft were delivered in fly-away condition from Airbus’s final assembly line in Seville, Spain.
The remaining 40 aircraft are to be manufactured and assembled in India by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. at the Vadodara FAL as part of a wider industrial partnership.
Once completed, the C-295 fleet will significantly enhance the IAF’s transport capabilities and replace ageing AVRO-748 aircraft. India will also become one of the largest global operators of this aircraft type under the deal.
Significance And Strategic Context
The first domestically assembled C-295 is seen as a landmark in India’s efforts to develop advanced aerospace manufacturing and AatmaNirbhar Bharat capability. The Vadodara facility is the first major aircraft final assembly line established in India by a private sector player in collaboration with a foreign OEM.
