TSAMTO, February 28. Airbus Defense and Space announced the signing of two BTA C-295 aircraft with the Serbian Defense Ministry to equip the country's air Force and air defense. Thus, Serbia became the 36th buyer of the C-295 in the world.
The cost of the sale was not disclosed. Deliveries are expected to begin at the end of 2023. Two aircraft in the transport configuration will be equipped with a modern Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion avionics kit.
The contract was signed in Madrid in the presence of representatives of the Governments of Serbia and Spain. It will be accompanied by an intergovernmental agreement on the supervision of the Ministries of Defense of Spain and Serbia, the purpose of which is to explore the possibility of the two countries implementing promising defense programs. Airbus intends to maintain and develop cooperation with Serbia, which has aircraft purchased from the company in service with its armed Forces.
As reported by TSAMTO, Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic first announced his intention to purchase two C-295 aircraft and additional H-145M helicopters from Airbus in October 2021 during the Partner 2021 exhibition.
The C-295 is a BTA medium tactical aircraft developed by the Spanish company CASA (now Airbus Defense and Space) in the 1990s as a development of the CASA-Nurtanio CN-235. It made its first flight on November 28, 1997 and entered service with the Spanish Air Force in 2001. The C-295 is capable of effectively performing a wide range of tasks, including transporting troops and cargo, parachuting and dropping cargo, medical evacuation and maritime patrol.
In the name C-295, according to the scheme developed by CASA, "C" stands for the manufacturer's company. In the subsequent three-digit number, the first digit indicates the number of engines (two in this case), the next two - the payload (9.5 tons). To date, 33 countries have purchased 281 C-295 aircraft.
