- India inaugurated its first private military aircraft plant in Vadodara, Gujarat, marking a significant step in its defence manufacturing sector in collaboration with Airbus Spain.
- The Tata Aircraft Complex, a collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus, will produce 56 C-295 transport aircraft for the Ministry of Defence, with 16 to be assembled in Spain and the remaining 40 in India.
- The C-295 aircraft can transport 71 soldiers or 50 paratroopers and is adaptable for medical evacuations, disaster response, and maritime patrols.
- The project aligns with India’s “Make in India, Made for the World” mission.
- It will be fitted with an indigenous electronic warfare suite to be developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited.
- It can also operate on short unprepared airstrips as it is capable of Short Take-off and Landing (STOL).
- It will replace ageing and frequently accident-prone Russian AN-32 medium-range military Transport Aircraft.
- It already operates in Colombian mountain terrain, desert terrain in Jordan and Algeria, and cold climates in Poland and Finland.
Dig Deeper: Compare it with the C-17 Globemaster.
