On October 30, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the ambitious C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility at Vadodara in India’s Gujarat state to be set up by Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL). This is the first time a private sector company would be manufacturing a full aircraft in the country. This was a huge step forward for India in the global aircraft manufacturing domain.
Significance of the aircraft
The Airbus C-295 is a medium tactical transport aircraft that was originally designed by the Spanish company CASA in the 1990s as Nurtanio CN-235. CASA joined the European aeronautical group- EADS in 2000. Now designated C-295, it made its first flight on 28 November 1997 and entered service with the Spanish Air Force in 2001. The 9.5 tonnes payload aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops and cargo. All 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous electronic warfare suites. The C-295W is the enhanced performance version with winglets and uprated engines. It is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW-127 engines, a part of the PW100 family. C-295 also has an AEW&C variant among many other roles.
A formidable platform
The C-295MW is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity which will replace the legacy Avro aircraft in the Indian Air Force (IAF) procured in the 1960s. The HS-748 Avro fleet is extremely old and it is not unusual for the IAF to continue flying so long past its service life when it has been retired in other air forces. It is currently still used for light transport and liaison purposes but also functions in the cargo transport role as needed as several of the aircraft have large cargo doors which have proven to be useful over the decades.
Bu hikaye Geopolitics dergisinin June 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Geopolitics dergisinin June 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Lessons From Gaza And Lebanon
The ongoing war, loosely called the Gaza War, is actually being fought in two different loosely connected segments; against the Hamas with a spill off in the West Bank and East Jerusalem areas against Palestinian factions and against the Hezbollah in Lebanon with a spill off in Syria. Treating Israel-Hamas War and the Lebanon War as separate entities, RAJ MEHTA explains the lessons from these wars
POSITIVE STEPS TOWARDS POTENTIAL REGIONAL COOPERATION
It has been a whirlwind of diplomatic activity for India recently. India participated in both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO) summit that took place in Islamabad on October 15-16, and the 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia, from October 2224, 2024. These back-to-back summits within a short span of time underscore India's active role in shaping regional and global diplomacy, balancing national interests with multilateral cooperation
THE EAGLE'S EYE TEJAS MK-II RADAR PIERCES VEIL OF THE SKY
The Tejas Mk-II, featuring DRDO's GaN-based Uttam AESA radar, marks a major leap in India's defence, enhancing range, precision, and multi-target tracking capabilities, highlights GIRISH LINGANNA
PRIME MOVER
The indigenously developed Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) has received a boost with its first export order from the Kingdom of Morocco
TRANSFORMATIONAL INDUCTION
The GA-ASI MQ-9B will dramatically enhance the ISR and precision strike capabilities of the Indian armed forces
TACAN PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
Navigation systems have evolved significantly since the Viking era, with Tactical Air Navigation TACAN) now widely used for air and sea travel. Post-World War Il, reliable systems became essential for safety and efficiency, as highlighted by DR. SUJAN KUMAR SARASWATI, in this article on TACAN’s operational principles.
AIRBORNE TRACKER
Indigenous efforts towards AEW&C and AWACS platforms need to be stepped up even as international programmes extend the current state-of-the-art for such aircraft, highlights
AFFORDABLE LETHALITY THE INDIAN DILEMMA
India's defence dilemma is now being complicated by the lessons learnt in the Ukraine and Gaza wars because these conflicts are reshaping the way wars are fought in the modern world.
FROM IMPORTS TO SELF-RELIANCE IN ARMS
Self-reliance in Defence Production needs new ideas, new definitions _es and an appropriate methodology, argues AMIT COWSHISH
"THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IS WORKING HARD TO REMAIN A CREDIBLE AIR FORCE"
Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 21, 1984, Air Chief Marshal AMAR PREET SINGH PVSM AVSM took over as the 28th Air Chief of India on September 30, 2024.
