IAF to get another C17, equipment

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 23

The Ministry of Defence today accorded in principle permission to the Indian Air Force to procure one additional C17 Boeing Globemaster, the last piece produced by the manufacturer, along with other equipment and platforms worth Rs 8,184 crore.

At the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting held here, the Ministry gave “Acceptance of Necessity” to four proposals, including the heavy-lift transport aircraft manufactured by Boeing, to join current IAF fleet of 10 aircraft bought for Rs 18,645 crore.

Sources in the ministry said the DAC also approved procurement of 1,500 Nuclear-Biological-Chemical suites to be designed and developed indigenously and produced by the public sector major Bharat Electronics to go with the BMPs of the Indian Army. Its estimated cost is Rs 1,265 crore.

Another Rs 5,500 crore was sanctioned for procurement of six multi-mission maritime reconnaissance aircraft for Indian Coast Guard that will incorporate state-of-the art mission suite developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation. Currently, the Coast Guard operates a fleet of Dornier aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The DAC approval for a fourth proposal was to procure 55 Low Level Light Weight Radars for both Indian Army and Navy at a cost of Rs 419 crore.

The decision of IAF to procure the last Globemaster left with the company will be under the Foreign Military Sales route through which it brought 10 aircraft under an agreement signed in 2011 that had an option to procure additional six.

The utilisation of the aircraft in India came under adverse observation from the Comptroller and Auditor General for underutilisation of the operational capabilities of the aircraft. “With cost of Rs 43.19 lakh per flying hour for C-17 aircraft, this was imprudent,” the CAG said. The annual average load airlifted by C-17 ranged between 13 tonnes and 18 tonnes per sortie, against the aircraft’s payload capacity of 70 tonnes.

The aircraft was inducted by the IAF between June 2013 and December 2014 to set up a unit. Boeing closed the Globemaster assembly line at California last summer.