The delivery of the first Spanish C295W MSA for search, rescue and maritime surveillance

The Spanish Ministry of Defense has officially received today the first of the Air Force's C295W MSA aircraft.

Airbus shows the first three completed Spanish C295W MSA military aircraft
Airbus shows the future Spanish C295W military aircraft in three configurations

Three years ago, in June 2023, Spain announced the purchase of 16 Airbus C295W aircraft in maritime surveillance (MSA) and maritime patrol (MPA) configurations. Initially, the order was to be for 6 MPA and 10 MSA aircraft, but the final contract stipulated eight aircraft of each variant.

This afternoon at 4:04 PM CET, the Spanish Ministry of Defense published these three photos of the official handover ceremony of the C2952 MSA, with the classic gray scheme of the Spanish Air Force's aircraft fleet and the initials "SAR" (for "Search and Rescue") on both sides of its front.

This aircraft is the first C295 maritime patrol aircraft of the Spanish Air Force (an aircraft model intended to replace the aging CN-235 VIGMAs operated by the 802 Squadron (Wing 46) from Gando, in the Canary Islands, and by the 803 Squadron (Wing 48) from Getafe, in Madrid). Furthermore, this aircraft is the first C295W operated by the Spanish Air Force, which until now had only operated C295Ms.

The Spanish Air Force has published the following three photos of this aircraft today on its website, highlighting that its delivery took place two and a half years after the contract was signed in December 2023. "The reception took place at the Airbus facilities in San Pablo (Seville), where The aircraft has been assembled, in a ceremony attended by the Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcarce, and the President of Airbus Spain, Francisco Sánchez Segura, among other civil and military authorities," the Air Force stated.

The aircraft delivered today is the S-239, which we already saw in March without paint during its first flight, which took place on November 11, 2025, with the provisional civil registration EC-239. Wing 46 published the first images of this completed aircraft on January 27.

In the photos published by the Spanish Air Force, we can see that this first C295W MSA bears the military registration D.06-01 and the serial number 13374, both marked on its tail fin. Its squadron number and roundel were covered, but it was possible to discern that the number refers to its squadron, the 802. The number "01" appears on the nose of the aircraft. Therefore, its serial number will most likely be 802-01. Until now, the CN-235 VIGMA aircraft of Wing 46 flew without a serial number and without a Spanish roundel, sporting the old SAR scheme of the Air Force with the national flag on the rudder, without the St. Andrew's Cross.

In the photos of this aircraft, we can observe the black dome of the multimode maritime search radar, located on the underside of the forward fuselage section, and the EO/IR (electro-optical/infrared) turret situated on the underside of the nose, which includes high-definition cameras and infrared sensors for day/night detection. You can see below the video published today by Airbus Defence about this aircraft:

✅ First #C295 Search and Rescue aircraft for Spain just delivered!

The aircraft, assembled at the Airbus Final Assembly Line in San Pablo, Seville, Spain, will perform its ferry flight in the coming days to join the @Ejercitoaire 46th Wing at Gando Air Base in Gran Canaria.

As… pic.twitter.com/MGT28YD4lI

— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) June 24, 2026

In the publication of this video, Airbus Defence points out that this aircraft is fully optimized to carry out national and international search and rescue missions, as well as maritime security operations and the prevention of illicit trafficking. Airbus has also indicated that it will deliver two additional C295W MSA aircraft to Spain this year, from the batch of eight ordered, in addition to the first two C295MTA transport aircraft ordered in 2025 by the Spanish Ministry of Defense, out of a total of 18. The European firm has also indicated that the delivery of the first C295W MPA maritime patrol aircraft to Spain is scheduled for 2028. This delay is due to the Sánchez government's veto of the Israeli defense industry, which includes the manufacturer of the C295W MPA's ELM-2022A multimode radar. Blunders in foreign policy end up having this result.

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Photos: Ejército del Aire / Ministerio de Defensa de España.