Lagatar24 Desk
Seville, Sept 13: The first C-295 transport plane built for India by major aircraft maker Airbus was delivered to the chief of the air staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, on Wednesday at a facility in Seville, Spain.
The chief of the Indian Air Force Chaudhari received the airplane’s keys from the Airbus officials.
The IAF chief stated that getting the first C-295 cargo aircraft is a significant accomplishment for the entire nation and a step toward Atmanirbhar Bharat.
“It is a major milestone not only for IAF but for the whole country. This is for two reasons – first, for IAF it improves our tactical airlift capabilities by leaps and bounds. For a nation, it marks the beginning of a new era,” Chaudhari said.
For Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said, “After the first 16 aircraft roll out from this plant, the 17th aircraft onwards will be made in India. It’s a big step for the Indian aviation industry where we will be manufacturing the first military transport aircraft in the country…”
The plane is the first of 16 C-295s that will be manufactured in Spain; the other 40 will be produced in an Indian facility in Vadodara, Gujarat, as part of a joint venture between Tata and Airbus.