India finalises acquisition of 56 Airbus C295s

India has formalised the acquisition of 56 Airbus C295 medium transport aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of HAL/BAe 748M Subroto aircraft, which are primarily referred to locally as the Avro, after the company which originally designed the type. The finalisation of the deal was announced by Airbus Defence and Space on September 24. It becomes the first ‘Make in India’ aerospace programme in the private sector, involving the full development of a complete military industrial ecosystem: from manufacture to