fleet – two C212s, a Stemme S15 and a number of remote-controlled aircraft – and serve as a research platform, to which end it will feature a flexible suite of sensors and instruments. In January, the maiden flight of the Clean Sky 2 technology demonstrator, based on a C295, took place in Seville. The European Union’s Clean Sky 2 project, in cooperation with the Networking and the mutual use of air transport capacities within NATO are also progressing steadily. In future, the German and French air forces will operate a joint squadron with ten C-130Js and KC-130Js. At the European Air Transport Command (EATC) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 27 French C235s and 13 Spanish C295s are available, among other aircraft. Here, tasking orders are assigned to the aircraft best suited for the specific mission in question. Germany and the Netherlands also make nearly all their transport aircraft available to this group. Measured in terms of numbers and user states, the CASA C235/295 is probably the most successful small tactical transport aircraft worldwide. The conceptual disadvantage of the low height of the cargo compartment, when compared with the Hercules, seems not to have diminished its success. The market for light tactical transport aircraft seems to be so vibrant, currently, that Ilyushin has developed the Il-112 as a successor to the An-32. The first two prototypes are right now undergoing troop trials with the Russian Air Force. The C295 as a Weapons Platform In 2014, Jordan was the first officially-known user nation to operate a C295 gunship. Airbus Defence and Space and ATK (now part of Northrop Grumman) converted one of Jordan’s two C295 transports into a gunship, to join the two AC235 gunships the Jordanians operated at that time. Elements of the conversion included integrated mission and fire control systems, electro-optical (L3Harris MX-15) and radar (Thales I-Master Synthetic Aperture Radar) sensors, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, a side-mounted M230 30mm Bushmaster chain gun, as well as guided 70 mm rockets. In June 2021, Airbus revealed an upgraded armed ISR C295 variant, aimed at providing persistent close air support (CAS) capabilities. During initial flight tests, the aircraft carried eight laser-guided missile and two laser-guided bomb dummies on four underwing hardpoints. Fully loaded, the variant is capable of carrying up to 16 air-to-ground missiles, with a mission endurance of over eight hours claimed. The latest generation of the Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) will ensure the Armed ISR C295 will be capable of integrating a range of different weapon options, with users able to select from machineguns, 27mm cannon, guided and unguided rockets, laser-guided missiles and laser guided bombs. An Airbus brochure shows the TEBER-82 laser guidance kit for MK-82 bombs, two side-mounted 12.7mmmachineguns, a side-mounted 27mm autocannon and Door Gun System (DGS), L-UMTAS guided anti-tank missiles, CIRIT 2.75n laser guided missiles and 2.75in CAT-70 unguided missiles. These weapon options can be flexibly mixed, according to the parameters of the specific mission. Airbus recently signed a series of MoUs with Roketsan, Expal, Escribano and Equipaer, Rheinmetall, Nobles Worldwide and US Ordnance – a taste, perhaps of the breadth of weapon choices open to existing and potential users. AN-32 C-295 C-27 C-130J KC-390 Manufacturer Antonov Airbus Alenia Lockheed Martin Embraer Payload (kg) 6,700 7,050 8,100 19,000 19,000 Cargo space height (mm) 1,840 1,900 2,600 2,740 2,950 Soldiers/ paratroopers 50/42 69/78 66/46 128/92 80/66 Runway length (m) 1,800 650 580 953 unknown Range (max payload) (km) 880 1,300 1,850 2,600 2,600 [Data are approximate values and drawn from publicly available sources] Comparative Aircraft Data 42 · MT 3/2022 Feature ENOK 4.8 AB in the cargo hold profile of the C 295. (Graphic: ACS) h ACS ENOK AB for the Czech Special Forces. (Photo: ACS) e
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