Comments
The Indian Air Force, which had shortlisted the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III in a $4.1 billion deal, has received the first of its 10 aircraft order.
The first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft, ordered from the United States, touched down at the Hindan airbase, near Ghaziabad on June 18, amidst much fanfare.
With this, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has become the newest operator of the airlifter.
Chosen after a thorough study of its capability to take off and land on short runways with heavy loads, and even on unpaved runways (mud runways) coupled with its ease of operation, the aircraft is set to complement the IAF's 20 IL-76 Soviet-era aircraft, which were acquired two decades ago.
In a statement, Air Vice Marshal SRK Nair, Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Transport and Helicopters) noted: "The C-17 will equip the IAF with amongst the world's most advanced humanitarian and strategic capabilities.''
An official release said the aircraft was received by Air Marshal S. Sukumar, Deputy Chief of Air Staff at the Hindon airbase.
Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing India, told Business Line that India is an important customer for Boeing. "We will be here for the long term to meet the country’s military and security needs," he added.
Boeing is on track to deliver four more C-17s to the IAF this year and five in 2014. Incidentally, the close relationship between Boeing and India dates back to 70 years, when Tata Airlines first flew the DC-3 aircraft.
India's Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with the US government on June 15, 2011 to acquire 10 C-17 airlifters. The deal makes India the largest C-17 customer outside the United States.
With the first of its consignment, Boeing has now delivered 254 C-17s, including 222 to the US Air Force and a total of 32 C-17s to Australia, Canada, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and NATO.
Boeing is to support the IAF C-17 fleet through a contract which ensures mission readiness by providing all C-17 customers access to a support network for worldwide parts availability and economies of scale.
Tommy Dunehew, Boeing Vice-President, added that nations turn to the C-17 for the capability to perform a wide range of operations, from peacekeeping and disaster relief to troop movements from semi-prepared airfields. "This aircraft will provide the IAF with the versatility to augment airlift capability," he noted in the statement.
Given India's urgent requirement due to its strategic border scenario, the need to ferry troops, men and material within India even in times of contingency has assumed paramount importance.
The training of the aircrew and the ground crew was conducted by the United States Air Force. The induction is termed a major milestone in the modernisation drive of the IAF.
The IAF was looking to acquire 10 C-17S through the US Government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route. Confirming the FMS route, an official pointed out, "Most defence contracts have a follow-on option. The C-17's arrival to India comes a month after the on-schedule arrival of the first Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft for the Indian Navy".
amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.