Boeing lands IAF deal for ten C-17 Globemaster III heavy-lifters

15 June 2009

New Delhi: Boeing has scored another significant gain in the Indian defence market with the Indian Air Force (IAF) shortlisting the company's C-17 Globemaster III as its new Very Heavy Lift Transport Aircraft (VHTAC). According to IAF chief of air staff, air chief marshal PV Naik, the aircraft's selection has been made keeping in mind its ability to take off and land on short runways with heavy loads, long range, and ease of operation.

In an interview to a local defence magazine, ACM Naik said the force was looking at acquiring ten C-17s initially, with aircraft deliveries likely to commence about three years after the signing of a contract. The deal would very likely be struck through the US government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and a proposal in this regard was under consideration by the ministry of defence (MoD), he said.

The IAF transport command currently operates a fleet of approximately 100-plus medium-lift An-32s and approximately 20 heavy-lift Ilyushin-76 aircraft. Spares are increasingly a problem with facilities spread out over a number of newly independent states formed after the break-up of the erstwhile Soviet Union. The Il-76 platform is also doing service as the IAF's mid-air refuelling aircraft, as well as its AWACS platform.

With the Antonov manufacturing facilities now located inside the newly independent country of Ukraine, an agreement would very likely be signed with it for the up-grade programme of the An-32s, the air chief said.

While the Il-76 can carry a cargo of around 45 tonnes with a crew of six, the Boeing C-17 can carry 70 tonnes with a smaller crew of two pilots and one loadmaster, making it a total of three. This economy of manpower it achieves because of its various power-assisted systems.

It can also seat two observers.