Angola receives first Airbus C295
The first of three Airbus C295s ordered by Angola in 2022 has arrived in the African country. (Photo: Airbus)
The first of three aircraft ordered is in transport configuration with the remaining aircraft to be configured for maritime patrol.
Angola has received the first of three Airbus C295 aircraft ordered in April 2022. It has been configured for transport missions and will be able to carry out tactical cargo and troop transport tasks, paratrooping, load dropping or humanitarian missions.
The other two aircraft will be delivered in maritime patrol configuration with all three equipped with the Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion avionics suite. The maritime patrol variant will be fitted with the Airbus-developed Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) mission system and other sensors.
At the time of the order Angola became the 10th African operator of the aircraft with a total of 44 aircraft on the continent. In total, 35 countries have ordered or fly the aircraft and 258 have been ordered, with approximately 182 delivered.
Equipped with retractable landing gear, a pressurised structure and short take-off and landing capabilities, the C295 can operate in austere locations.
Low fuel consumption and long endurance also ensure reduced operating costs and, thanks to its light footprint, the C295 can operate from soft (CBR2) unprepared airstrips.
The baseline variant has a 12.7m-long unobstructed cabin that can be used to transport 71 personnel or accommodate up to five standard 463L pallets.
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