Ecuador buys two C295s for Army and Navy use

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso announced that his Minister of Defence Luis Lara, had signed a contract with Airbus Defence & Space for the purchase of two C295 tactical transport aircraft on October 18.

One of the three C295Ms (FAE-1031) that are already operational with the Ecuadorian Air Force. The nation has now purchased an additional two C295s, one of which will be employed by the Army and the other by the Navy. Santiago Rivas

The two aircraft – which will likely be the C295W variant of the popular C295-series of tactical transports – will be split between Ecuadorian military operators, with one destined for delivery to Ecuadorian Army Aviation and the other set to be handed over to the Ecuadorian Navy. The aim is to strengthen the fixed-wing airlift capabilities of both forces.

While the Ecuadorian Air Force currently operates three C295Ms – which have employed by Escuadrón de Transporte 1112 (Transport Squadron 1112) at Eloy Alfaro Air Base (co-located at Eloy Alfaro International Airport) in Manta, Colombia, since August 2014 – the Army operates two CN-235M-100s and one CN-235M-300 and the Navy has two CN-235-100MPA maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).