IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari took the delivery of the C-295 plane, part of a ₹21,935-crore Make in India project, in Spain on September 13

NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) newest transport aircraft, the C-295, on Wednesday landed at the Vadodara air base in Gujarat, a week after Airbus Defence and Space handed over the plane to IAF at Seville in Spain, officials said.

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari took the delivery of the plane, part of a ₹21,935-crore Make in India project to upgrade the IAF’s transport fleet, at a ceremony held at Airbus’ San Pablo site in Seville on September 13.

The plane was flown to Vadodara by a joint IAF-Airbus crew.

It is expected to be the centrepiece of the upcoming Air Force Day parade, and the IAF will raise its first squadron of the tactical airlifters at the Vadodara.

The C-295s will boost the air force’s logistics capabilities to meet mission requirements in forward areas, including those near the contested border with China, and replace its ageing fleet of Avro transport aircraft that entered service in the early 1960s, the officials said.

The first aircraft, which will be formally inducted into the IAF at the Hindan air base on September 25, is likely to take part in this year’s Air Force Day parade to be held at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on October 8 when the IAF celebrates its 91st anniversary.

The first squadron will be raised in Vadodara as the IAF wants the first lot of these planes to be based near the C-295 production facility there. A C-295 squadron will consist of 10 to 12 aircraft, the officials said.

The first C-295 came two years after the defence ministry signed a contract with Airbus for 56 planes to boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector. TATA Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus are jointly executing the programme. The European plane maker will deliver 16 planes in flyaway condition, while the rest will be assembled in India at the Tata facility in Vadodara.

IAF’s second C-295 is in final assembly at Seville and will be delivered in May 2024. The last of the 16 flyaway aircraft will be delivered to IAF by August 2025, while the first “made in India” C-295 will roll out of the Vadodara facility in September 2026 and the remaining 39 by August 2031.