First Royal Canadian Air Force C295 Makes Maiden Flight

The first Airbus C295, purchased by the Government of Canada for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) Fixed Wing Search and Rescue Aircraft Replacement (FWSAR) program, has completed its maiden flight, marking a key milestone towards delivery by the end of 2019 to begin operational testing by the RCAF.

The contract, awarded in December 2016, includes 16 C295 aircraft and all In-Service Support elements including, training and engineering services, the construction of a new Training Centre in Comox, British Columbia, and maintenance and support services.

The aircraft will be based where search and rescue squadrons are currently located: Comox, British Columbia; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Trenton, Ontario; and Greenwood, Nova Scotia.

The first RCAF crews will begin training in late summer 2019 at Airbus’ International Training Centre in Seville, Spain.

Considerable progress has been made since the FWSAR program was announced two and a half years ago: the first aircraft has commenced flight testing; another five aircraft are in various stages of assembly; and seven simulator and training devices are in various testing stages.

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