IAF chooses Boeing's latest C-17 for heavy-lift transport aircraft

[Contrarian]

Bloody circus. IAF wants to operate every plane type of every country.

Best to Stick to enhanced Il-76's for now with newer engines and airframe tweaks. Makes to sense to shift to a different type of plane unless IAF specifically has a requirement for Very Heavy Transport Planes.

Incidentally, does anyone know what is the max payload of the An-32?

 

[lilaspr]

Bloody circus. IAF wants to operate every plane type of every country.

Best to Stick to enhanced Il-76's for now with newer engines and airframe tweaks. Makes to sense to shift to a different type of plane unless IAF specifically has a requirement for Very Heavy Transport Planes.

Incidentally, does anyone know what is the max payload of the An-32?

# Capacity: 42 paratroopers/50 passengers/24 Casualties on stretcher with 3 medical personnel
# Length: 23.78 m (78 ft 0¾ in)
# Wingspan: 29.20 m (95 ft 9½ in)
# Height: 8.75m (28 ft 8½ in)
# Wing area: 75 m² (807 ft²)
# Empty weight: 16,800 kg (37,038 lb)
# Loaded weight: kg (lb)
# Useful load: 7500 kg (16,500 Lbs)
# Max takeoff weight: 27,000 kg (59,400 lb)
# Powerplant: 2× ZMKB Progress AI-20DM turboprop, 3,812 kW (5,112 ehp) each
# Cargo hold dimensions: 12.48 (11 metres flat) x 2.78 x 1.84 metres
# Cargo door size: 2.40 x 1.91 metres, closed by rear loading ramp
# Maximum hold volume: 30 cubic metres

 

[sancho]

Bloody circus. IAF wants to operate every plane type of every country.

Best to Stick to enhanced Il-76's for now with newer engines and airframe tweaks. Makes to sense to shift to a different type of plane unless IAF specifically has a requirement for Very Heavy Transport Planes.

Incidentally, does anyone know what is the max payload of the An-32?

I don't think that the C17 is aimed against the IL 76, it seems to be necessary becuase our requirement of airlift capacity is rising and the MRTA is aimed for a lower segment.

This is our transport fleet now:

Do 228 - payload 1,9t
Hawker Siddeley - payload 5,1t
An 32 - payload 7,5t
IL 76 - payload 47t

And now see the difference to our future fleet:

Saras - 1,2t
MRTA - 18,5t
C130J - 19t
A330 MRTT - around 40t
IL 76 - 47t
C17 - 77,5t

Also if you read this:

The cabin will have the same cross section as the Ilyushin Il‑76—3.45 X 3.45 meters (11.3 X 11.3 ft.)—but will be half the length.

Options Expand in Heavy Lift

I don't think that it needs so much after induction of MRTA to build a new IL 76 based on the MRTA right?

 

[Gabbar]

Indian Air Force Looks at Boeing C-17 Globemaster III to Replace Ilyushin IL-76

Keen on replacing its ageing Russian IL-76 transport aircraft fleet, the Indian Air Force has shortlisted US major Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III for its heavylift aircraft.

"The C-17s have been shortlisted after IAF carried out a thorough study on its capability to take-off and land on short runways with heavy loads," IAF sources said here today. IAF would place an initial order for 10 of the C-17s through the US government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, and may later go in for a follow-on order, sources said.

"The Defence Ministry is at present considering the proposal. If accepted, the aircraft should be inducted in about three years after signing of the contract," sources added. In fact, most of IAF's transport aircraft were acquired in the 1980s and the air force is keen to acquire new generation aircraft to replace and augment its fleet.

There are about 100 mediumlift AN-32 aircraft and around 20 heavylift IL-76 aircraft in the IAF fleet at present. An IL-76 has a six-member crew and can carry a cargo of 45 tonnes. But the C-17, which is powered by four Pratt & Whitney F-117-PW-100 turbofan engines, can carry 70 tonnes and has only a three-member crew, industry sources said.