defence news

IAF inducts C-17 Globemaster III heavy-lift transport aircraft

Press Trust of India | Updated Sep 02, 2013 at 01:28pm IST 

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Giving a major thrust to IAF's capability to swiftly move troops and tanks to battle fronts, Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday formally inducted its biggest 70-tonne C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft into service at the Hindon Air Base.

The plane's induction is a giant stride for the force and it will perform tactical and non-traditional operations also, he said. The C-17 Globemaster III aircraft has been procured from the US under a deal expected to be over Rs 20,000 crore.

A symbolic key of the plane was presented by the minister to the unit's commanding officer to mark its induction.

IAF inducts C-17 Globemaster III heavy-lift transport aircraft

Speaking on the occasion, IAF chief NAK Browne said the plane will be operated from the advanced landing grounds in the northeastern states as well as from high altitude bases in north and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The C-17, with a capability to carry around 70 tonnes of load and around 150 fully geared troops, will replace the Russian IL-76 as the biggest aircraft in the IAF inventory till now. The IL-76 has the capability to carry loads upto around 40 tonnes.

The IAF has placed orders with the US for ten C-17 aircraft under the deal signed in 2011 and three of them have already been delivered. The US Air Force is scheduled to complete the delivery of all the 10 planes by the end of next year.

The aircraft is expected to enhance the operational potential of the IAF with its payload carriage and performance capability and would augment the strategic reach during disaster relief or any similar mission.

After the delivery of the 10 aircraft, the IAF may also exercise the option of procuring six more planes. In recent times, the IAF has shifted its dependence from the Russian-origin aircraft towards the American ones with the induction of the C-17 and the C-130J Super Hercules transport planes.

The IAF operates six C-130Js and has plans of procuring six more for operations on small and unpaved runways alongside routine transport missions. The force also has the Russian Antonov-32 in its inventory.





SEP. 4

Russia to hand over INS Vikramaditya on Nov.
15

INS Vikramaditya will be handed over to the Indian
Navy on November 15 at a formal ceremony in the
Russian northern seaport of Severodvinsk on the
White Sea. The delivery date was confirmed at talks Defence
Secretary R.K. Mathur held in Moscow on Monday,
according to informed sources. A high-level Indian defence delegation paid a one-
day visit to Moscow to prepare an annual session of
the Indo-Russian Intergovernmental Commission
on Military-Technical Cooperation that will meet in
Russia next month under the chair of the two
Defence Ministers. The upgraded and retrofitted aircraft carrier is now
completing sea trials and is expected to return to
the Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk in the next
few weeks. The ship was to be delivered last December, but
failed the sea trials after its boilers and some other
systems malfunctioned. This time, all systems
performed flawlessly, including daytime and night
takeoff and landings by MiG-29K deck fighter
planes, the sources said. The sides were tight-lipped on the issue of India
acquiring a second nuclear submarine from Russia,
but the sources confirmed that Moscow was willing
to lease another Akula class submarine if India paid
for completing its construction. The submarine has
been lying half-built at the Amur Shipyard in the Russian Far East since it was mothballed in the
1990s for lack of funds. On the recent accident in which INS Sindhurakshak
sank after rocked by explosions, the Russian side
agreed to provide expert assistance for raising the
submarine and carrying out its technical inspection. Russia will also beef up its team of 100 engineers,
now deployed in Vishakhapatnam in order to
speed up midterm repairs to INS Sindhudhvaj and
INS Sindhushashtra. The Russian side also offered
to have two more Indian Navy Kilo class
submarines undergo midterm repairs in Russia, the sources said. In reviewing progress of the Fifth Generation
Fighter Aircraft, the sides noted with satisfaction the
completion of preliminary design phase earlier this
year. It is hoped that a contract for detailed design