The Airbus Defence and Space on Wednesday handed over to the Indian Air Force the first of the 56 C295 transport aircraft kick-starting the delivery of the planes under a Rs 21,935-crore project that was sealed two year’s back as part of an overall aim to modernise India’s air assets.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari received the aircraft at the aerospace major’s production facility in the southern Spanish city of Seville.
Under the deal, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville by 2025 and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.