India seals deal with Airbus for buying 56 military transport aircraft
New Delhi, September 25 (KMS): The Indian Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with European company Airbus for procurement of 56 military transport aircraft C-295MW at a cost of Rs 21,000 crore.
The C-295MW plane is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para-dropping of troops and cargo.
As many as 16 planes will be in a flyaway condition to be delivered by Airbus, Spain, within 48 months from the signing of the contract. The remaining 40 are to be made in India by Airbus-Tata consortium within the next 10 years. This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. All 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous electronic warfare suite.
A large number of parts, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aero structure are scheduled to be manufactured in India.
