When the Soviet-built workhorse is due for retirement sometime beyond 2030, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is contemplating the option of replacing its Antonov-32 (AN-32) aircraft with the C-295s to modernise its transport fleet, senior officials with knowledge of the situation said on Friday.
The C-295 medium transport aircraft will replace the IAF’s fleet of ageing Avro-748 aircraft, which began service in the early 1960s. It will be produced in India in partnership between Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and European company Airbus Defence and Space. One of the aforementioned officers, who requested anonymity, claimed that there is growing agreement within the air force that the C-295s are the best option to replace the AN-32s.
In order to support forward deployed soldiers around the nation’s borders, especially in Ladakh and the Northeast, the IAF now runs a fleet of about 90 AN-32 aircraft.
“The C-295 is capable of carrying out the roles assigned to AN-32s, and can be a good replacement when the time comes. While the air force is not in a rush to zero in on a replacement for AN-32s as their phasing out will begin only after 2030, the C-295 fits the bill,” said a second official, who also asked not to be named as per HT.
A $400 million agreement between India and Ukraine was signed in 2009 to update the AN-32 fleet.
Some of them underwent avionics and engine lifespan upgrades in Ukraine ten years ago, while several more are undergoing upgrades at an IAF repair facility in Kanpur.
Over a decade has passed since the Avro replacement project began. In order to replace the Avro jets with 56 new aircraft, the defence acquisition council, India’s top defence purchasing agency, approved its acceptance of need (AoN) in 2012. An AoN by the council is required by India’s defence procurement regulations before any military equipment can be purchased.
On October 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the cornerstone for a manufacturing facility being built by the Tata-Airbus consortium at Vadodara in Gujarat for the C-295s, which are anticipated to replace the Avro aircraft. This was done as a boost for the government’s Make in India initiative.
The event was the consequence of a 21,935 crore contract for 56 C-295 aircraft that the defence ministry signed with Airbus Defence and Space last year. The deal, which TASL is jointly implementing, is considered as a boost to the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative.
“By the time the AN-32s come up for replacement, the last of the C-295s would have been delivered to the IAF as Avro replacement. Going in for C-295s as a substitute for AN-32 will ensure continuity in production,” the second official added as per HT.
According to the agreement, 40 C-295 aircraft would be produced in India, while 16 will be delivered by Airbus from Spain in flyaway condition. The Made in India C-295 is anticipated to leave the new plant in September 2026, with the other units expected to be completed by August 2031. The 16 flyaway aircraft are expected to be delivered between September 2023 and August 2025.
