The Ministry of Defence on Friday announced that it has signed a Rs 22,000-crore contract with Airbus for 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force. The Cabinet Committee on Security, headed by PM Modi, cleared the purchase a fortnight ago.The C-295s will replace the IAF’s fleet of ageing Avro-748 planes.Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will jointly execute the project to equip the air force with the new transport aircraft under the ‘Make in India’ initiative in the aerospace sector.Airbus will supply the first 16 aircraft in flyaway condition while the remaining 40 will be assembled in India by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL).The Avro replacement project was in the works for almost a decade.The defence acquisition council accorded its acceptance of necessity (AoN) to replace the Avro planes with 56 new aircraft in 2012. Under India’s defence procurement rules, AoN by the council is the first step towards buying military hardware. The Avro-748 entered service in the early 1960s and has been long due for replacement.
