Brunei Signs Contract for C295 Tactical Transport Aircraft

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Brunei has signed a contract for the acquisition of a number of C295 tactical transport aircraft for the Royal Brunei Armed Forces to replace the current CN235 in service with the RBAF.

“The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), as a representative of the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, signed a contract with Airbus Defence and Space S.A.U, Spain for the acquisition of C295MW transport aircraft,” a Ministry statement said.

The C295 is a medium transport aircraft is intended to replace the current CN235-110M, which the RBAF has operated since 1997, the statement on the Sultanate’s MINDEF website said. The Aircraft will enhance RBAF’s capabilities to conduct various mission profiles, including Strategic Airlift, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, as well as Search and Rescue.

“The aircraft are expected to be delivered to the RBAF in two batches,” the statement said. The Ministry did not indicate the number of aircraft ordered.

Signing on behalf of MINDEF was Colonel (retd) Norsuriati binti Haji Sharbini, Permanent Secretary (Policy, Finance and Administration), while representing the Airbus Defence and Space, Spain was Jose Juan Corcia Palomo, Head of Southeast Asia, Airbus Singapore Pte Ltd. The contract signing took place Dec 2 at the Officers’ Mess, Bolkiah Garrison near here.

The formal signing ceremony was witnessed by Brigadier General (retd) Abdul Razak bin Haji Abd. Kadir, Deputy Minister of Defence. Also present were Major General Muhammad Haszaimi bin Bol Hassan, Commander Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), Permanent Secretary (Development, Maintenance and Technology), Service Commanders, Joint Force Commander, Deputy Permanent Secretaries, Directors and senior officers from MINDEF, and the RBAF. According to Airbus’ latest datasheet on the type, a total of 275 aircraft of different variants have been ordered with a total of 203 delivered worldwide. Users in Southeast Asia include Indonesia, Philippine, Thailand and Vietnam. India in September 2021 formalised the acquisition of 56 Airbus C295 aircraft to replace the Indian Air Force legacy AVRO fleet. –adj/ao/mhi (Pix Airbus, MINDEF Brunei)