The first three Airbus C295 aircraft ordered by the Ministry of Defence and built at the aerospace giant’s Sevilla plant are almost ready to be delivered.
Airbus confirmed the planes have completed all ground and painting tests and are now preparing for their first flight trials before being officially handed over.
In posts shared on LinkedIn and X, the company said the three Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) are ‘ready to take to the skies’.
The aircraft will be used for a wide range of military and security operations, including tackling smuggling, illegal immigration and drug trafficking, as well as search and rescue missions both in Spain and internationally.
The aircraft form part of a major defence contract signed between Airbus and the Spanish government for the manufacture of 18 C295 planes to replace the ageing CN235 and C212 fleets currently used by the Spanish Air and Space Force.
The deal is worth an estimated €1.56 billion and runs until November 2032.
Under the agreement, Spain will become the world’s second-largest operator of the C295 aircraft after India.
The transport version of the aircraft can carry up to 70 soldiers or 50 paratroopers and is designed to operate in difficult conditions, including taking off and landing on unprepared runways.
It can also carry out parachute drops, cargo launches and medical evacuations.
The programme is divided into two phases.
The first group of aircraft will be used for pilot and transport training at the Military Air Transport School at Matacan Air Base in Salamanca. Deliveries are scheduled between 2026 and 2028.
The second batch, expected between 2030 and 2032, will be used for parachute training operations at Alcantarilla Air Base in Murcia.
The contract also includes advanced flight simulators, digital training systems and long-term maintenance support for the fleet through to 2032.
According to Airbus, the C295 is currently the global market leader in its category, with 329 orders from 38 countries and more than 710,000 flight hours worldwide.
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