On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, the European company Airbus Defence and Space announced on social media that India’s Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) had flown the first locally assembled C295MW medium transport aircraft, intended for the Indian armed forces.
The first ‘Made in India’ Airbus C295 military transport aircraft has conducted its first test flight from the Final Assembly Line in Vadodara 🇮🇳, marking a milestone for Indian aviation and defence. This maiden test flight is a crucial step in the aircraft’s post production… pic.twitter.com/nPkjpIENkD
— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) June 10, 2026
The C295MW medium transport aircraft FAL (Final Assembly Line) was launched at TASL’s facility in Vadodara, Gujarat, western India, on October 28, 2024. Deliveries of the first aircraft were scheduled to begin in September 2026.
The facility in India is part of a program to deliver a total of 56 C295MW aircraft to the Indian Air Force (Bhartiya Vāyu Senā, IAF) under an agreement dated September 24, 2021. The first 16 aircraft were assembled at the San Pablo Sur plant in Seville, while the remaining aircraft are being assembled in the user country. Deliveries from the Spanish line began in September 2023 and were expected to be completed by August 2025.
Construction of the facility began on October 30, 2022. Since 2023, components for these aircraft had already been produced there at the MCA (main component assembly) facility in Hyderabad, southern India. Ultimately, TASL is to be responsible for delivering 70% of the components for the Indian C295MWs. Previously, the figure was expected to exceed 85%, or 13,000 parts, for which 21 special processes were certified and 37 Indian subcontractors from both the private and public sectors were included. Interestingly, the Spanish-built aircraft currently being delivered are being fitted with an Indian electronic warfare system from Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
The establishment of the Vadodara FAL facility is part of the government’s Make in India and AatmaNirbhar Bharat, or Self-Reliant India, programs. It is worth adding that TASL is also a partner of another Airbus group company, Airbus Helicopters, in building an H125 light multi-role helicopter final assembly line in India.
The C295MWs will replace the Indian Air Force’s obsolete Hawker Siddeley HS 748M transport aircraft, manufactured under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) from the 1950s onward and known locally as the Avro. Including the first production variant, a total of 89 aircraft were built.
The C295s will complement 12 C-130J-30 Super Hercules medium transport aircraft, 103 An-32 medium transport aircraft, including 40 modernized An-32REs, 11 C-17A Globemaster III heavy transport aircraft, and 53 Dornier Do 28 light aircraft. Seventeen Il-76MD heavy transport aircraft are slated for retirement, while the Ministry of Defence is seeking a supplier of 40 to 80 medium transport aircraft under the MTA (Medium Transport Aircraft) program. Offers have been submitted by Airbus Defence and Space with the A400M-180 Atlas, Lockheed Martin with the C-130J-30 Super Hercules, and Embraer with the C-390 Millennium.
Production at the Vadodara FAL facility may potentially be increased, as an option has been retained for six additional C295 aircraft in anti-submarine warfare and patrol variants for the Indian Coast Guard (Bhāratīya Taṭarakṣak), later increased to 15 aircraft. Three would be produced in Spain and the remainder in India. This would include six C295 MPA Persuader (Maritime Patrol Aircraft) maritime patrol aircraft for the Indian Navy (Bhāratīya Nau Senā) under the MMMA (Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft) program, and nine C295 MSA (Maritime Surveillance Aircraft) maritime reconnaissance aircraft under the MRMR (Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance) program for the aforementioned Coast Guard.
The Indian Air Force congratulates the entire team behind the successful maiden flight of the first India-made C-295.
The achievement reinforces India’s growing aerospace capabilities and underscores the Indian Air Force commitment to fostering indigenous defence capability… pic.twitter.com/tsU0dQUdi5
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 10, 2026
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