In Need of Lift

Atul Chandra

In any future conflict with China, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be tasked with transporting large quantities of men and material to India’s Himalayan and North-Eastern frontiers. To cater to this requirement the IAF is now in the middle of an effort to recapitalise its transport aircraft fleet which largely comprises of eighties-origin Antonov AN-32 Sutlej medium transports, Ilyushin IL-76 Gajraj heavy transports along with the far more modern and capable Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Lockheed Martin C-130J-30.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh receiving C-295 at Hindon

However, while the larger strategic airlifters such as the C-17 and IL-76 will play a key role, it will be the newer Airbus C295 coupled with the upgraded AN-32REs that will undertake the bulk of the military airlift needed to sustain combat operations on the Eastern front.

The IAF is presently said to be re-evaluating its military airlift requirements vis-a-vis its increased operational orientation on India’s North-Eastern borders. It would appear that the continued concerns related to operating costs and future sustainment of the IL-76 and AN-32RE will result in both of these types being replaced by the future Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA).

Ideally, the IAF would have already had an MTA in service by now, if the Indo-Russian MTA project to develop a turbofan-powered military transport in the 15-20 tonne category had fructified. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) entered into a joint venture with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation-Transport Aircraft Division over a decade ago, in 2012. However, the MTA programme was cancelled in 2017, with rumours that the Air Force was unhappy with the high-altitude performance of the aircraft, among other things.

New Lift

It has been just a year since the IAF released a requirement for a new Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) in February 2023. The MTA would be used for various roles of transport aircraft between 18 to 30 tonnes of cargo carrying capacity. The IAF requirement has received strong interest from military transport aircraft manufacturers, of which only a few exist globally.

The Air Force could procure up to 80 aircraft and the MTA requirement is the largest of its kind in the world presently. At the moment Airbus, Lockheed Martin and Embraer have thrown their hat in the ring with their A400M Atlas, C-130 J Super Hercules and C-390 Millenium. Embraer is pitching the C-390 as the most modern military transport aircraft in the market, with the ability to carry 26 tonnes payload and achieve speeds of up to 870 kilometres per hour. Lockheed Martin is quietly confident of the C-130J-30s prospects as it has been in service with the Air Force for over a decade. Airbus’ A400M is the largest aircraft in the competition but also benefits from IAF familiarity with