Airbus Defence and Space last week handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in flyaway condition the first of 56 C-295 medium transport aircraft that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had ordered to replace its ageing fleet of HS-748 Avro aircraft. The first 16 C-295s on order will be assembled in Seville, Spain, and delivered by August 2025. The remaining 40 will be manufactured and assembled in Vadodara by August 2031 in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL). This is the first time the defence ministry will have entrusted a private firm — TASL — to carry out