A SPANISH aircraft manufacturer on Monday delivered one of three medium-lift transport planes ordered by the defense and military establishments under the AFP modernization program.
The C-295 plane, manufactured by Airbus Defense and Space, arrived at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga on Monday afternoon, said Air Force spokesman Col. Maynard Mariano.
Mariano said the plane will undergo inspection and tests, as required by procurement rules, before it will is commissioned by the Air Force.
The plane is part of a P5.28-billion deal, signed by the Department of National Defense with Airbus Defense and Space in 2019, for the delivery of three C-295s.
Mariano said the two other C-195s are due for delivery this year.
Mariano said the Air Force has four C-295s in its inventory — three assigned with the 220th Airlift Wing of the Air Mobility Command while the fourth is assigned with the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing.
He said the additional C-295 aircraft will further “ease a lot of burden” on the C-130 heavy-lift aircraft in the inventory of the Air Force.
The Air Force has two operational C-130s while three or four others are undergoing maintenance.
“This will ease a lot of burden on our other transport platforms. This (acquisition of the C-295s) is really the main purpose for all of these things,” he added.
Mariano said C-295s, which are ideal in landing and takeoff in short airfields, are used in the transport of troops and equipment and in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, among other missions.
“We’ve been relying on our existing C-295s during the (COVID-19) pandemic and during our relief efforts in connection with the recent typhoon `Odette,’” said Mariano.
