AUGMENTING THE AIRLIFT CAPABILITY

India is slowly and steadily raising its means to deploy and sustain military forces across possible distant battlefields by air, writes NINAD D SHETH

- NINAD D SHETH

The 1960s were a very long time ago. When an aircraft was introduced in the Indian Air Force, the choice was befuddling. Nehru ordered the purchase of the Hawker Sidley-748 to fulfill the requirements for a transport fleet. The aircraft was a curious choice as it lacked a loading ramp at the rare and its fuselage did not open at the back either - thus ruling out any cargo attributes.

Despite all this, the aircraft has served the IAF well. Being a very forgiving workhorse, it has been in its role as a troop and VIP carrier - not hauling cargo that was the original requirement. When electronics and reconnaissance hardware was added, it also served as a communication aircraft that could check on enemy missile defenses and eavesdrop on missile sites.

However, the new tender by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) aims at replacing it with a proper military transport aircraft. The likely contender is the Airbus C-295. Sixty-two of these aircraft are to be purchased at `17,000 crore rupees ($2.6 billion) for the IAF and the Indian Coast Guard.

The reason that India wants this medium-light aircraft is flexibility. The aircraft can carry a maximum payload of 9.25 tonnes. Being smaller in dimension than the other aircraft in the IAF’s fleet such as the C-130Js, C-17s, and IL-76s, the C295s can take off and land at many airstrips where the larger ones may not find operations easy. This will give the airforce a nimble choice to airlift supplies drop troops or carry out medical evacuations.