IAF to buy 56 C-295 MW Transport Aircraft CCS clears $2.5 billion deal – Free PDF Download

C-295 military transport planes acquisition

• India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday cleared the much-delayed purchase of 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft to replace the Indian Air Force’s ageing fleet of Avro-748 planes

• Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will jointly execute the project to equip the air force with the new transport aircraft under the Make-in-India initiative in the aerospace sector.
• Airbus will supply the first 16 aircraft in flyaway condition while the remaining 40 will be assembled in India by TASL.

• The C-295 is a transporter that performs almost like a fighter. It requires just 700 metres of runway to lift off and climbs rapidly to mission altitude. It has multiple mission capability: transporting 71 persons, lifting 7.25 tonnes of cargo or monitoring the sea for 11 hours non-stop, using sophisticated radar and infra-red scanners. It requires just 350 metres to land.
• The C-295 has a rear ramp door for quick loading and unloading and for para dropping of troops and cargo.

• The Avro replacement project was in the works for almost a decade.
• “Sixteen aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of signing of the contract and 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India by Tata consortium within ten years of signing of the contract.
• This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company,

• We have made good progress with the light combat aircraft and a variety of helicopters.
• But transport aircraft is one area where a lot needs to be done.
• The C-295 project will help create an ecosystem for building transport aircraft in India
• While the C-295s are meant to replace the Avro-748 transport planes, the new aircraft will also be suitable for demanding roles that the planes currently undertakes.
• The aircraft can operate from short, unprepared airstrips and carry out a variety of missions in all-weather conditions.

• The defence acquisition council accorded its acceptance of necessity (AoN) to replace the Avro planes with 56 new aircraft in 2012. Under India’s defence procurement rules, AoN by the council is the first step towards buying military hardware.
• The Avro-748 entered service in the early 1960s and has been long due for replacement.

Defence Acquisition Council

• The Defence Acquisition Council is the highest decision-making body in the Defence Ministry for deciding on new policies and capital acquisitions for the three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) and the Indian Coast Guard.
• The Minister of Defence is the Chairman of the Council.
• It was formed, after the Group of Ministers recommendations on ‘Reforming the National Security System’, in 2001, post Kargil War (1999).
• The programme will allow the Indian private sector to enter into the technology intensive and highly competitive aviation industry and will augment domestic aviation manufacturing resulting in reduced imports and expected increase in exports
• The programme will act as a catalyst in employment generation and is expected to generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium skill employment opportunities…It will involve development of specialised infrastructure in the form of hangars, buildings, aprons and taxiway
• The contract will also have an offset clause. India’s offset policy stipulates that in all big-ticket capital purchases, the foreign vendor has to invest at least 30% of the value of the purchase in the country to boost indigenous capabilities.
• “The original equipment manufacturer (Airbus) will also discharge its offset obligations through direct purchase of eligible products and services from Indian offset partners giving further boost to economy
• Offsets are applicable when the estimated cost of acquisition is Rs 2,000 crore or more (Rs 300 crore till 2015).
• It requires foreign and Indian vendors of certain category to buy components from Indian manufacturers or invest in Indian enterprises in the form of equity or transfer of technology (ToT) or equipment, provide equipment or ToT to government institutions or establishments or to DRDO to the extent of 30% of the estimated contract value.

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