India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday cleared the much-not on time buy of 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft to update the Indian Air Force’s ageing fleet of Avro-748 planes, the defence ministry introduced on Wednesday. The deal is anticipated to be worth $2.5 billion.
Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will together execute the venture to equip the air pressure with the new transport aircraft beneath neath the Make-in-India initiative withinside the aerospace sector. Airbus will deliver the primary 16 aircraft in the flyaway situation at the same time as the final 40 could be assembled in India via way of means of TASL. The Avro replacement project changed into being in the works for almost a decade.
“Sixteen aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of the signing of the contract and 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India by Tata consortium within ten years of the signing of the contract. This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We have made good progress with the light combat aircraft and a variety of helicopters. But transport aircraft is one area where a lot needs to be done. The C-295 project will help create an ecosystem for building transport aircraft in India,” said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director-general, Centre for Air Power Studies.