India moves towards ‘Make in India’ with first Airbus delivery

Sixteen C295 aircraft will be assembled at Seville in Spain with a second aircraft scheduled to be delivered in May 2024 and 14 rolled out one per month until August 2025.

“It was only two years ago that we signed this contract with India, the largest order in the history of the C295,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Airbus’ head of Military Air Systems, during a delivery ceremony held in Seville in the presence of IAF Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari.

“We are enhancing the capabilities of the Indian Air Force and modernising its transport fleet by delivering the first aircraft on schedule.

“This is the beginning of an exciting and long-term journey with the Indian Air Force.”

The remaining 40 C295 aircraft of the IAF order will be manufactured and assembled at a final assembly line in Vadodara in western India from September 2026, in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Limited. The final aircraft is expected to be delivered to the IAF by August 2031.

The production of components of these aircraft has already started in the Main Constituent Assembly facility in Hyderabad, southern India, to be shipped to the Vadodara FAL, which is expected to be operational by November 2024.

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.