In a significant stride towards strengthening India's maritime security, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), European aerospace major Airbus, and the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS)—a laboratory under the DRDO—have initiated the joint development of a specialised variant of the C-295 transport aircraft.
This new platform is being tailored specifically for the Indian Navy's Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) requirements, alongside a modified configuration for the Indian Coast Guard.
Indigenous Sensors and Mission Systems
According to sources close to the programme, the core of this maritime variant will be a sophisticated, cohesively integrated sensor suite designed and developed indigenously by CABS-DRDO.The project aims to deliver a mission-optimised, modular airborne surveillance platform that addresses the nation's growing need for maritime domain awareness across the Indian Ocean Region.
The aircraft is expected to be equipped with a state-of-the-art Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) maritime patrol radar and an electro-optic/infra-red (EO/IR) payload.
These indigenous systems will enable the detection and tracking of surface and sub-surface threats with high precision, significantly reducing reliance on foreign-made mission systems.
Production and Manufacturing Strategy
The development strategy involves a phased manufacturing approach.Initial modifications to the aircraft will be executed in Spain, utilising Airbus’s extensive expertise in converting the C-295 for special missions.
Once the baseline configuration has been successfully validated, the integration and manufacturing activities will shift to India.
This transition aligns with the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, aimed at deepening domestic aerospace capabilities and ensuring long-term technical support for the fleet within the country.
The final assembly is expected to take place at the TASL facility in Vadodara, Gujarat.
Operational Roles: Navy vs. Coast Guard
The MRMR configuration destined for the Indian Navy is designed to prioritise high-end maritime warfare capabilities.Its primary roles will include surface search and tracking, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) support, and maritime electronic intelligence (ELINT) gathering.
Additionally, the platform will handle secondary tasks such as long-range search and identification.
In contrast, the variant for the Indian Coast Guard—often referred to as the Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMMA)—will be configured for constabulary and humanitarian roles.
While it will retain core surveillance and search-and-rescue (SAR) capabilities, it will omit select military-grade sensors to better suit its mandate of pollution surveillance and coastal security.
Strategic Importance and Capability Gap
The C-295 platform was selected for its optimal balance of endurance, payload capacity, and operating economics.It is uniquely positioned to fill the operational gap between the short-range Dornier-228 and the long-range, high-end Boeing P-8I Poseidon.
With DRDO-developed sensors serving as the backbone of the mission system, the aircraft will offer advanced data fusion, providing operators with comprehensive situational awareness through tightly integrated onboard processing systems.
This programme represents a pivotal moment in India's defence indigenisation efforts.
By synergising Airbus’s proven airframe technology with TASL’s manufacturing prowess and DRDO’s indigenous sensor capabilities, the C-295 MRMR initiative is set to become a cornerstone of India’s future maritime surveillance architecture.
