New Delhi: The Indian Air Force is firming up plans to revamp its airlift capabilities with a medium transport aircraft (MTA) that will be assembled in India and serve as its main workhorse, ThePrint has learnt.
The new aircraft is expected to fill critical gap between the ageing Soviet-era Antonov AN-32s and the larger Ilyushin IL-76s and will herald a new era in India’s military transport fleet.
Currently, IAF relies on multiple transport aircraft of varying lift capacity to meet its requirements. It is now streamlining the fleet to ensure commonality and ease of training and maintenance, with an eye on modern operational requirements.
Sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint Thursday that the MTA will replace both AN-32s and IL-76s in terms of numbers and capability.
IAF is currently in the midst of drawing up a request for proposal (RFP) for the aircraft and it is likely to be issued in the next fiscal year, sources said.
The main competitors for this project are Brazil’s Embraer, which has offered its latest KC-390 Millennium aircraft, and Europe’s Airbus with its A400M. Inputs indicate that Japan’s Kawasaki C-2 could also be an option.
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Embraer, Airbus in mix for MTA order
The IAF, in December 2022, issued a request for information (RFI) to foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for an aircraft with a load capacity of 18-27 tonnes.
The load capacity specification in the RFI meant Lockheed Martin’s C-130J Hercules met the minimum requirement, with its airlift capacity of about 20 tonnes. KC-390 by Embraer met the upper requirement, with its load carrying capacity logged at 26 tonnes. The Airbus alternative (A400M) goes beyond the specified requirement with its capacity of 37 tonnes.
It is learnt that earlier this year, IAF sent in another RFI with a ceiling limit of 30 tonnes and this could have even gone to the Japanese for their Kawasaki C-2.
RFIs allow the force to gather information from potential suppliers about their products and their capabilities. It is only the first stage of formal interaction with a manufacturer, after which the force firms up its plans and approaches the defence ministry for clearances before a formal tender is issued.
But if the IAF is looking at replacing the IL-76—which has a maximum capacity of 40 tonnes—it would need to increase the upper limit of the required load capacity.
Sources said that in such a case, the competition lies between Embraer and Airbus. The Japanese aircraft has a capacity of a little less than 37 tonnes but is reported to be cheaper than the Airbus. There were murmurs earlier that India could buy more C-130J from Lockheed Martin separately, but sources said there is no plan to split the MTA order.
Streamlining fleet & challenges
Sources explained that IAF is looking at revamping its transport aircraft fleet to meet modern needs. Instead of operating multiple aircraft of different weight categories, it is looking at something like the Airbus C-295MW to cater to the lower end (5-10 tonnes), and the C-130J Super Hercules to undertake missions where the need is up to 20 tonnes.
The MTA will take care of the rest while the C-17 Globemaster III (with a load capacity of 70 tonnes) by Boeing remains for heavy lifting. India has ordered 56 C-295MW aircraft, and has an existing fleet of 11 C-17s. Sources said IAF does not plan to scout for second-hand C-17s since the aircraft is no more in production, and the force doesn’t need more at the moment. If Boeing restarts its production line, IAF might revisit this decision, they said.
Also part of the IAF fleet are 12 C-130s but they can’t lift light tanks.
Sources said IAF wants the medium transport aircraft to be capable of undertaking operations at high altitudes, and be able to land on and take off from unprepared runways like India’s Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in Ladakh and the Northeast.
The latest contenders—KC-390, A400M and the C-2—differ not only in terms of load capacity but also when it comes to engines. The A400M and the C-2 are turboprops, while the KC-390 has a jet engine.
Another issue that needs to be looked at is the flying capacity of the aircraft. While the C-130J of the IAF has landed at Advanced Landing Ground in Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), which is at 17,700 feet in Ladakh, the certified landing of the Embraer aircraft is only 14,000 feet.
Embraer officials argue that the aircraft is capable of landing at DBO but they are yet to exhibit the landing. The A400M can land onto short and unpaved airstrips where IL-76s and C-17s cannot. Airbus’s argument against its competition in the MTA programme is that its aircraft can carry heavy loads over longer distances and can fly up to a maximum altitude of 40,000 feet.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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