C-295
ICAO C295The most widely exported light military transport of the last twenty years. Live C-295 positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No C-295 is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Airbus Defence and Space
- Role
- Tactical airlift and maritime patrol
- Class
- L2T — Landplane, 2 turboprop engines
- Crew
- 2 to 3
- First flight
- 28 November 1997
- In service
- 2001
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the C-295
The C-295 is a stretched, re-engined CN-235, and it has quietly become the default answer for an air force that needs a tactical transport but cannot justify a Hercules. Around forty countries operate it, from Poland and Spain to Indonesia, Brazil, Egypt and India.
It is unusually versatile for its size. Beyond straightforward freight and paratroop work, the airframe is sold as a maritime patrol aircraft, an airborne early warning platform, a firefighter and a medevac conversion, and several of the aircraft on this page are doing surveillance rather than transport.
On the feed it is strongly European. Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and Czech aircraft are the most consistent, and the type rarely climbs above the mid twenties.
Callsign prefixes
- AME
- Spanish Air and Space Force
- PLF
- Polish Air Force
- SNAK
- A recurring Portuguese and NATO block
How to recognise it
- —Two six-bladed propellers on a high straight wing, with a long slim fuselage and a rear ramp.
- —Noticeably longer and thinner than a C-27J, with a lower tail.
- —Maritime versions carry a bulged radar radome under the forward fuselage.
Common questions
+ What is the difference between the C-295 and the CN-235?
The C-295 is a development of it: three metres longer, more powerful engines, six-bladed propellers and a higher payload. Both remain in production and both are on this site under separate designators.
+ Who operates the C-295?
Around forty air forces. Spain, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt, India and Canada are among the larger users; the operator list on this page is drawn live from the ICAO address of whatever is airborne.
+ Can the C-295 land on unpaved runways?
Yes — that is much of the point. It is designed for short, rough strips and needs well under a kilometre of runway at typical weights.