Spain Places Order for 16 Airbus C295 Patrol Aircraft

The $1.8 billion purchase contract includes 16 C295 medium multirole aircraft for the Spanish Air and Space Force and the Spanish Navy. [Courtesy: Airbus Defense]

The Spanish military has placed an order with Airbus for the purchase of 16 C295 aircraft to boost the country's anti-submarine warfare and patrol capabilities, the manufacturer announced.

The purchase contract includes new medium multirole aircraft for the Spanish Air and Space Force and the Spanish Navy configured as both maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and maritime surveillance aircraft (MSA). The 1.695 euro ($1.8 billion) deal also includes a full flight simulator, mission system simulator, and initial logistics support package, Airbus said.

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The MPA aircraft will replace the country's Lockheed P-3 Orion fleet, which it retired last year. The airplanes will be tasked with anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare. and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and will be capable of carrying torpedoes and other weapons systems.

The C295 MPA will conduct the missions performed by the P-3 Orion fleet, which were retired at the end of 2022. [Courtesy: Airbus Defense]

“The aircraft will be fully designed and manufactured in Spain, fostering the national industrial defense footprint and sovereignty” said Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space. “In particular, the maritime patrol version is the most complex C295 mission configuration to date."

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The MSA-configured aircraft are set to replace the country's CN-235 VIGMA twin-engine military transporter for anti-smuggling and anti-drug trafficking operations, as well as search-and-rescue missions.