The first India-assembled Airbus C-295 aircraft appears to be approaching rollout at the Tata-Airbus military transport production facility in Gujarat, signaling a major milestone for the country’s aerospace manufacturing sector.
Footage circulating on social media showed a nearly finished aircraft inside the final assembly line at the Vadodara plant. While no official rollout date has been confirmed by the Indian government, Airbus, Tata Advanced Systems, or the Indian Air Force, regional media reports indicate the aircraft could debut earlier than the projected September 2026 timeline.
The program stems from a $2.5 billion contract signed in 2021 for 56 C-295 transport aircraft to replace the Indian Air Force’s decades-old Avro Hawker Siddeley 748 fleet. Airbus has already supplied the first 16 aircraft directly from Seville, Spain, while the remaining 40 units are being manufactured in India through a joint effort with Tata Advanced Systems.
According to industry sources, the Gujarat facility marks the first instance of a privately owned Indian company producing a military aircraft domestically, highlighting the growing role of private industry in India’s defense modernization and the broader “Make in India” campaign. The initiative has further expanded the national aerospace supply chain, with a large number of components now being produced locally by Indian suppliers and small enterprises.
Designed for tactical airlift and multi-role missions, the C-295 supports logistics transport, troop deployment, casualty evacuation, humanitarian operations, and special forces missions. Its short takeoff and landing capability allows operations from austere and semi-prepared runways.
The aircraft is 24 meters long with a 26-meter wingspan and can transport more than 70 troops or payloads weighing up to 9,250 kilograms. Power is provided by twin Pratt & Whitney PW127G turboprop engines paired with six-bladed Hamilton Sundstrand propellers, while onboard systems include a Honeywell weather radar and six external hardpoints.
The C-295 can reach speeds of 482 kilometers per hour, operate across ranges of up to 5,000 kilometers, and fly at altitudes of 9,145 meters.
