Airbus Military has begun trials of water bombing with a specially modified C295 aircraft at a site near Cordoba, Spain specialized in firefighting.

The flights went well and further tests are planned in the near future to make a more detailed analysis of the C295 as a firefighter aircraft.

Meanwhile, Airbus Military has signed a contract with Kazspecexport, a State Company belonging to the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan, to supply two C295 military transport aircraft plus the related service support package for spare parts and ground support equipment. This order is implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed in 2012 between the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan and Airbus Military for the procurement of eight C295s in total and on the basis of which two C295s were already delivered in 2013.

The first two C295s are already in service with the Kazakhstan Air Forces and the third and fourth are planned for delivery in 2014 and 2015 respectively. With regards to the remaining four aircraft in the MoU, a delivery schedule will be defined over the coming years.

The Airbus Military C295 is a new generation, very robust and reliable, highly versatile tactical airlifter able to carry up to nine tonnes of payload or up to 71 personnel, at a maximum cruise speed of 260 kt /480 km/h. Fitted with a retractable landing gear and a pressurized cabin, it can cruise at altitudes up to 25,000 ft, while retaining remarkable short take-off & landing (STOL) performance from unprepared short, soft and rough airstrips, as well as low level flight characteristics.

Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G turboprop engines, the C295 provides an excellent maneuverability, outstanding hot and high performance, low fuel consumption and consequently a very long endurance of up to eleven hours in the air.