Lockheed to get $1bn India aircraft deal

[Neo]

Lockheed to get $1bn India aircraft deal ​

Six Hercules transport planes to come with lifetime maintenance guarantees​

NEW DELHI: India is set to award a one-billion dollar contract to Lockheed Martin for six Hercules transport planes in the biggest military aircraft deal with the US in five decades, an official said Monday.

A formal contract is likely to be issued next month to US-based Lockheed which is also in the race for a 10-billion dollar contract to sell 126 fighter jets to the Indian air force, a defence ministry official said. “The reserved RFP (request for proposal) will be issued anytime now,” a top ministry source told AFP on condition that he was not identified by name or rank.

A meeting of India’s security cabinet led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week cleared the deal for six C-130J planes for special forces operations and left options open for further purchases, the source said. The clearance comes ahead of an official trip to India next month by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. “The contract will be the most capital-intensive military aircraft deal awarded to a US firm since the early 1950s when we acquired American Fairchild C-119s,” the official said.

Maintenance: He said the contract would include lifetime maintenance support guarantees for the four-engined turboprop transport aircraft which will be used as the “main tactical” plane for special operations. Lockheed Martin has offered to configure the six Hercules according to India’s needs and equip the 30-metre-long planes with missile and radar warning systems, other ministry officials said.

“The Indian version will be configured for special operations and is different from any of the C-130Js being manufactured for international customers,” Jim Grant, Lockheed’s vice president for air mobility and special operations, told the Indian Express newspaper. The technology-starved Indian air force currently operates Soviet-era 10- and 40-tonne capacity transport aircraft and the officials said the Hercules which can haul 20 tonnes would be able to “fill the gap.”

“These are versatile units which can easily land and take off from short, makeshift strips and we are looking at them to fill the gap with their medium-lift capacity,” one official said. The Hercules, which can be used on humanitarian missions, is part of a 2004 multi-billion-dollar Indian programme to raise world-standard special forces units, other officials said. The offer came less than a week after India handed a 2.2-billion dollar contract to France’s Dassault to upgrade 51 Mirage-2000 fighter jets that the Indian air force bought in 1985.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[KENT]

This transport planes are definetly seem to be top notch and unparalled as compared to all other transport plane in the world since they are equipped with several top notch electronic as well as defensive gears.

 

[Energon]

I think Boeing is also slated to get the P8I deal.

 

[Contrarian]

India to offer one-bln-dollar aircraft deal to Lockheed Martin: official

1 day ago

NEW DELHI (AFP) — India is set to award a one-billion dollar contract to Lockheed Martin for six Hercules transport planes in the biggest military aircraft deal with the US in five decades, an official said Monday.

A formal contract is likely to be issued next month to US-based Lockheed which is also in the race for a 10-billion dollar contract to sell 126 fighter jets to the Indian air force, a defence ministry official said.

"The reserved RFP (request for proposal) will be issued anytime now," a top ministry source told AFP on condition that he was not identified by name or rank.

A meeting of India's security cabinet led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week cleared the deal for six C-130J planes for special forces operations and left options open for further purchases, the source said.

The clearance comes ahead of an official trip to India next month by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

"The contract will be the most capital-intensive military aircraft deal awarded to a US firm since the early 1950s when we acquired American Fairchild C-119s," the official said.

He said the contract would include life-time maintenance support guarantees for the four-engined turboprop transport aircraft which will be used as the "main tactical" plane for special operations.

Lockheed Martin has offered to configure the six Hercules according to India's needs and equip the 30-metre-long (99-foot) planes with missile and radar warning systems, other ministry officials said.

"The Indian version will be configured for special operations and is different from any of the C-130Js being manufactured for international customers," Jim Grant, Lockheed's vice president for air mobility and special operations, told the Indian Express newspaper.

The technology-starved Indian air force currently operates Soviet-era 10- and 40-tonne capacity transport aircraft and the officials said the Hercules which can haul 20 tonnes would be able to "fill the gap."

"These are versatile units which can easily land and take off from short, makeshift strips and we are looking at them to fill the gap with their medium-lift capacity," one official said.

The Hercules, which can be used on humanitarian missions, is part of a 2004 multi-billion-dollar Indian programme to raise world-standard special forces units, other officials said.

The offer came less than a week after India handed a 1.5-billion euro (2.2-billion dollar) contract to France's Dassault to upgrade 51 Mirage-2000 fighter jets that the Indian air force bought in 1985.

Ties with India's main arms supplier Russia, which accounts 70 percent of the country's military inventory, now face rough weather over delays by Moscow over the refurbishing of a Soviet-era aircraft carrier for the Indian navy and other deals.

Analysts say India, the largest buyer of armaments among emerging nations, is likely to spend 50 billion dollars between now and 2018 to modernise its 1.23-million-strong military, the world's fourth largest.

AFP: India to offer one-bln-dollar aircraft deal to Lockheed Martin: official

 

[Contrarian]

Super Hercules to be cutting edge for covert operations


New Delhi, January 27: When it comes to inserting troops in difficult terrain in the shortest possible time, few aircraft can do it better than the US-built C 130 J Super Hercules. The last time its predecessor—the C 130 Hercules—operated in India was to stave off an invasion by Chinese troops in 1962.

In response to an urgent call by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the US Air Force rushed its latest Hercules aircraft to quickly land troops in Assam and Ladakh during the Sino-Indian border conflict. At that time, 12 Hercules lifted 5,000 troops to the conflict zone in a record time of four days.

More than four decades down the line, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to procure six specially configured ‘Super Hercules’, that will come in handy during special operations — which involve covert landing of troops in hostile territory in the pitch of darkness.

While the standard Super Hercules have been operating regularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, what has left IAF pilots drooling are the abilities of the special ops version of the aircraft being specially developed on Indian specifications.

Equipped with a Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) sensor, Heads Up Display (HUD) and navigational aids, the aircraft is configured to fly in very low visibility conditions through fog, clouds and even dust-storms. It can even land and take off from an airstrip in pitch dark without using any external lights — an ability that could have come in handy during the 1999 Kandahar hijack crises.

This will effectively give the Air Force the capability to airlift troops and cargo virtually anywhere in the country in all weather conditions, something, IAF officers concede, is not possible with the current Russian origin transport fleet.

“The Indian version will be configured for special operations and is different from any of the C 130 Js being manufactured for international customers. It will fly at lower altitudes and along the nape of the earth. Another feature will be that it can go covert by flicking a single switch that will turn on the black lights and navigational aids,” said Jim Grant, Vice President, Air Mobility and Special Operations of aeronautics giant Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the aircraft.

It will also bridge a gap in IAF’s transport fleet that currently operates the 10 tonne capacity AN 32s and the 40 tonne IL 76s. The Super Hercules is configured to carry loads in excess of 20 tonnes. While the IL 76s, which is the mainstay of the Air Force, are occasionally grounded at high altitude airfields on hot days, the Super Hercules can lift a 10 tonne cargo load from the airbase at the hottest possible day in the region. An added advantage is that the rugged aircraft can land and take off even from short, semi prepared runways in “hot and high” conditions. The aircraft also has an automated cargo handling system that uses an onboard computer to achieve accuracies of over 98 per cent - priceless for dropping supplies near the border, putting in troops into a conflict zone or providing humanitarian relief.

Also packed into the aircraft are goodies like missile warning systems, missile counter measure, radar warning systems, electronic countermeasure systems and secure communication systems — essential for carrying out special operations.

Another interesting thing the IAF is looking for is to use the aircraft in the unique role of a helicopter refuler. After an Expression of Interest from Air Chief Marshal F H Major, engineers have found a way to configure the aircraft for refuelling slow moving transport helicopters, light observation choppers and even attack helicopters at an “extra cost”.

However, it will take at least three years for deliveries to start after signing of the final contract between the Indian and US governments.

IndianExpress.com :: Super Hercules to be cutting edge for covert operations

 

[mujahideen]

I have a question for my Indian friends and this question is not meant to be negative in anyway. How will the growing U.S.-India tie effect the ties between India and Russia?

 

[KENT]

I have a question for my Indian friends and this question is not meant to be negative in anyway. How will the growing U.S.-India tie effect the ties between India and Russia?

It all depends upon how does India plays its diplomatic cards with russia by maintaining US in its sphere of influence.
In current modern world, India is seen as rising power all over the world by virtue of its impressive economic growth, heritage democracy as well as civilan control of military has made India a favourite destination for variety of foreign investments in terms of Business and coporate sector, Infrastructure or Defence collabration. And hence because of all this qualities of India, Russia simply can't afford to disintegrate itself from growing nation like India. Afterall Russia also wants to improve its own Economic condition and hence it has no option but to improve its ties with India.