An Airbus C295W aircraft belonging to the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) began a tour today that will allow it to demonstrate its capabilities in various Latin American countries. The aircraft, which is operated by a mixed crew from Airbus Defence and Space and SEMAR, will travel the length of the continent from north to south.

The tour will expose the C295W to the region’s diverse and extreme weather conditions and terrain, demonstrating not only its robustness and reliability but also its versatility – characteristics which have seen it become the market leader in its segment.

The new C295W version equipped with winglets is capable of transporting more payload over larger distances in the hot and high conditions typical of various countries included in this tour of the region, resulting in fuel savings of around 4% and increased safety margins in mountainous regions.

“Airbus Defence and Space aircraft have been chosen on countless occasions by the armed forces of Latin America, and have consistently shown themselves in service to be superbly well-suited to the variety of missions they are required to carry out. The latest C295W model, with winglets and uprated engine power, is more capable than ever and we are immensely looking forward to demonstrating it to the air arms of the region,” said Christophe Roux, Head of Airbus Defence and Space in Latin America.

Airbus Defence and Space currently has around 145 military transport aircraft in service with the armed forces of 13 countries in Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Mexico, with 24 aircraft – including the new C295W – is the largest operator of Airbus Defence and Space military transport aircraft in Latin America, followed by Colombia and Brazil, with 18 and 12 aircraft respectively. Chile was one of the first countries to place an order with the former company CASA (now part of Airbus Defence and Space) in 1978 and today has a fleet of 12 military transport aircraft produced by Airbus Defence and Space.