New Delhi has formally approached Washington for a direct Govt-to-Govt deal for acquiring 10 C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic airlift ac, each of which comes for over a whopping $220 million.
India sent `a letter of request' for the acquisition of 10 C-17s to the US Govt last week. "Under FMS, we will get C-17s at the same price the US Govt buys them from Boeing, plus some service charges,'' said an MoD official.
IAF certainly needs to augment its strategic airlift capability to move large combat systems and troops over national and international distances, given that it has barely a dozen Russian-origin IL-76 `Gajraj' aircraft. IAF's medium-lift fleetincludes 104 Russian AN-32 aircraft.
The massive four-engine C-17 dwarfs them all. Capable of carrying a payload of up to 170,000 pounds, it can transport tanks and troops over 2,400 nautical miles.
With mid-air refueling, the C-17 can go even longer distances. Rugged , a C-17 can even land at a small forward airbase on a semi-prepared runway or airdrop over 100 combat-ready paratroopers directly into a battlezone.
Pse Click for the full Report: Govt Set to Ink Record $2.2bn Arms Deal with US
Brigadier(Retired) Sukhwindar Singh
http://www.indiandefenceindustry.com/
(An e-Hub for Indian Defence Industry Ecosystem)
Credit: USIBC and Its News Agencies.
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