New Delhi, — Delivery of the first Airbus C-295 transport aircraft assembled in India for the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been delayed by another one to two months from the September 2026 target due to minor issues identified during production testing.
Outgoing Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, confirmed the delay and said the issues were minor and that rectification work was underway.
The aircraft is the 17th C-295 for the IAF and the first to come from the Tata-Airbus Final Assembly Line in Vadodara, Gujarat. It completed its maiden flight from Vadodara in June 2026 and has since been undergoing test flights and acceptance trials before delivery.
Why is the aircraft delayed if it is assembled in India?
The delay also highlights that the Indian C-295 programme involves more than simply putting together a completely imported aircraft, but it is not a fully indigenous aircraft manufactured entirely in India.
Under the programme, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Airbus are carrying out final assembly, testing and delivery in India, while major airframe structures and thousands of detail parts are also being produced through Indian facilities and suppliers. Airbus and TASL have stated that more than 85% of the structural and final assembly work for the 40 aircraft to be built in India will take place domestically.
However, the aircraft still includes components and systems supplied through the wider Airbus production chain. Therefore, even though the aircraft is assembled in India, production testing, systems integration, flight testing and acceptance still have to be completed before the IAF can formally accept it.
India signed a ₹21,935-crore contract with Airbus in 2021 for 56 C-295 aircraft. The first 16 aircraft were supplied from Airbus's facility in Spain, while the remaining 40 are being manufactured and assembled in India by TASL in partnership with Airbus.
The Vadodara facility is India's first private-sector military aircraft manufacturing venture of this type. The programme is also intended to develop an Indian aerospace manufacturing ecosystem involving local suppliers, aircraft structures, components, tooling and testing.
The current delay is linked to the minor issues found during testing of the first Indian-assembled aircraft. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said the issues are not severe and rectification is underway, with delivery expected after the remaining observations and acceptance procedures are completed.
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