India transport aircraft: Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, also called TASL, is setting up a big MRO center for C-130 transport planes in Bengaluru. This place will handle maintenance, repair, and overhaul work for these aircraft. Reports say TASL also plans to make a bid to give the Indian Air Force a new group of medium transport aircraft in the future.
The company wants to help India build more aircraft inside the country and depend less on foreign makers. The new MRO center may finish by 2026. After that, the first C-130J is expected to reach the place by early 2027. The Indian Air Force uses 12 C-130J planes right now, bought many years ago in 2008.
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India to Replace Old An-32 Fleet
The Indian Air Force still relies on its old An-32 transport planes, which first came from the Soviet Union. India started using these aircraft in 1984 and now has nearly 100 of them. Because they are aging, the Air Force wants to buy about 40 to 80 new medium transport aircraft to replace them.
In 2009 India signed a $400-million deal with Ukraine’s Ukrspetsexport to upgrade 105 An-32s and extend their life from 25 years to 40 years. Under the plan, Ukraine would upgrade 40 of the planes at its own factories, finishing about 10 each year. The remaining 64 would be upgraded at the Air Force’s No. 1 Base Repair Depot in Kanpur using material and technology provided by Ukraine.
Even with these upgrades, the An-32 fleet will start reaching the end of its extended life between 2030 and 2032.
Past Russia Plan
India and Russia had planned to build a new transport aircraft together. They signed a deal in 2012 to make a 15-20 tonne plane for troops, supplies, and low-altitude drops. But they later disagreed on the engine and design, so the project was cancelled in 2016.
Right now, the Indian Air Force uses many transport aircraft, including the Dornier 228, Avro HS-748, An-32, C-130J, IL-76, and the big C-17. According to Eurasiantimes the old Avro planes are being replaced by the C-295. India receives 16 C-295s from Spain, while 40 more are being built in India by TASL and Airbus. The first 16 made in India need 30% Indian parts, and the rest must have 60%. Since the C-295 work is going well, the focus has now moved to finding a replacement for the An-32.
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What the New Medium Transport Aircraft should do?
In December 2022, the Air Force shared a document asking companies to give details about the new aircraft they can offer. This paper says the replacement aircraft needs to fly from very high and tough places like the Advanced Landing Grounds in Ladakh and the Northeast. The plane must carry between 18 and 27 tonnes.
The upgraded An-32RE version can only carry 7.5 tonnes, so the Air Force wants a much stronger plane this time. The government has still not decided how many planes must be bought. The Air Force is asking companies for the price of 40, 60, and 80 aircraft so they can decide later.
Aircraft Interest
Three big companies are now offering their planes for the new transport aircraft program. Lockheed Martin from the US is offering the C-130J. Embraer from Brazil is offering the KC-390 Millennium and has teamed up with Mahindra in India. Airbus from Europe is offering the A-400M Atlas.
All three planes are larger and stronger than the one India once hoped to build with Russia. None of them were designed for the tough high-altitude airfields that India uses near the Line of Actual Control. The C-130J can carry 19 tonnes, which is close to the Air Force’s target. The KC-390 can carry 26 tonnes, while the A-400M can lift 37 tonnes, which is much more than India’s ideal need.
