The Burkina Faso military placed an order for acquisition of one C-295W tactical transport aircraft from Airbus as part of the country’s 2018-2022 Military Acquisition Law. The Air bus confirmed this order during an announcement on 11 December.
Burkina Faso’s National Assembly approved the budget to purchase this aircraft in 2017, in a budget of $1.2 billion to reform and re-equip the country’s armed forces.
The Airbus C295 is a new generation tactical airlifter, it is robust and reliable but also highly versatile in with a wide range of different missions it can perform. It can also conducts multi-role operations worldwide under all weather conditions. The new aircraft is equipped with winglets and uprated engines to deliver improved performance than its predecessor
According to Bernhard Brenner, the Head of Marketing and Sales for Airbus Defence and Space, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast a have operating C-295W Tactical Transport Aircraft and now Burkina Faso. He took pride that the C295 is becoming the 21st Century’s standard tactical airlifter in Africa, with 36 aircraft operating in the region.
The acquisition of the C-295W will revitalize the moribund transport capability of the Burkina Faso military, which is currently limited to a second-hand PTDI NC235-220 aircraft that has not been operable for several years.
