Indian Air Force’s fourth Boeing C-17 Globemaster III delivered

By BA Staff

Boeing remains on track to deliver five C-17 Globemaster III airlifters committed to the Indian Air Force this year, as the fourth aircraft has departed the United States for India.

Boeing will deliver five more C-17s to India in 2014 to complete the ten aircraft contract.

Most recently, the IAF used its C-17s to support Cyclone Phailin relief efforts.

Boeing will complete production of the C-17 Globemaster III in the fourth quarter of 2015. In addition to the remaining C-17s for India, the company will build 15 more for other customers outside the United States. Boeing will continue after-delivery support of the worldwide C-17 fleet as part of the C-17 Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program Performance-Based Logistics agreement.

Boeing has delivered 258 C-17s, including 223 to the U.S. Air Force and a total of 35 to Australia, Canada, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations.

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High resolution photos: Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules lands at Daulat Beg Oldi

by Devesh Agarwal

Yesterday, we wrote about the world record breaking effort of the Indian Air Force landing one of its C-130J Super Hercules strategic air transporters at the world's highest airfield at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO). Read the story here.

With a hat-tip to Shiv Aroor, we present some high resolution pictures of the 'Herc' at DBO. The aircraft was on the ground for 30 minutes and kept its engines on the entire time it was on the ground.

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The C-130J is part of the six aircraft that India ordered from the U.S. Government, and is based at Hindon near the capital New Delhi, with the newly raised 77 Squadron IAF named ‘Veiled Vipers’, and is used by the special forces, including the famous NSG Black Cats.

The squadron's motto “Kill with Stealth”, signifies the all-weather, stealthy 'black-ops' mission capabilities in deploying the special forces to deal with many varieties of threats. India has realised the capabilities of this great aircraft and is ordering another six.

The important of Daulat Beg Oldi Advanced Landing Ground (ALG)

The Aksai Chin region of Ladakh is hotly contested by both India and China. India and China fought a border war in 1962 and in 1993 accepted the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as the de-facto international border.

Daulat Beg Oldi is located just 4.5 kms away from the Karakoram pass and supports Indian troops on the Siachen glacier, which a major thorn in China's strategic interests in the region. This map shows a clearer picture.

Western borders of India and China with Aksai Chin region. Image courtesy Wikipedia

While the Chinese side of Aksai Chin is easily approachable from the east, for India, it is extremely difficult, and involves traversing the highest motor-able road in the world, the Khardung La pass.

This paper in PDF format from the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis gives significant insight on why this high altitude desert called DBO is so important.



Chinese troops have been repeatedly violating agreements with India, and have crossed the LAC (Line of Actual Control) more than 150 times this year alone.

On April 15th, Chinese troops blatantly crossed the border near DBO and pitched tents right in the face of the Indian army. This infographic shows what happened.

Instead of fighting back the aggression, the UPA2 government took no action, and even sent its foreign minister Salman Khurshid to Beijing, pretending nothing had happened. At that time, Parliament had to be adjourned when the government was cornered by the opposition for its spineless tactics.

The landing of the Hercules today with its ability to carry in 20 tons, is a definite signal to the Chinese of the unmuzzling of the Indian armed forces and their ability to respond.

In the longer term, expect India to upgrade the landing strip to accommodate the big daddy, the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy airlifter.

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Indian Air Force's first C-17 en-route to India

by Devesh Agarwal

India's first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport airlift aircraft, CB-8001, is en-route to India after completing its almost six month long flight test program at Edwards Air Force Base in Palmdale, California, USA, which began following the aircraft's delivery to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on January 22. Boeing is expected to deliver four more C-17s to the IAF this year and the balance five in 2014.

Curiously, while the C-17 a global distance airlifter, the delivery flight which took off Tuesday night India time, will stop at many places along the way and arrive at its base, Air Force Station, Hindon, outside the capital New Delhi only on Monday June 17th.

The arrival of the first C-17 is almost two years to the date, after the original $4+ billion procurement deal for 10 aircraft was signed in June 2011. With the 10 aircraft, the Indian Air Force will be the largest operator in the world after the US Air Force. Boeing has delivered 254 C-17s, including 222 to the U.S. Air Force and a total of 32 C-17s to Australia, Canada, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations.

India is expected to sign a follow-on order for more C-17's shortly.

Boeing will support the IAF C-17 fleet through the Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) Performance-Based Logistics contract. The GISP "virtual fleet" arrangement ensures mission readiness by providing C-17 customers access to an extensive support network for worldwide parts availability and economies of scale.

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Indian Air Force's first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III enters flight testing

The Indian Air Force's (IAF) first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter (tail number CB-8001) has been delivered by Boeing, on schedule, for flight testing.

Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III. CB-8001

The first of the 10 airlifters ordered, now enters a U.S. Air Force (USAF) flight test program at the famous "The Right Stuff" Edwards Air Force Base in Palmdale, California, USA. This particular aircraft completed the 'major join' of its fuselage about six months ago.

These C-17's were ordered by the Indian government under the US government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. In effect it is the US government that is selling these planes to India, hence Boeing's delivery to the USAF. India's Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with the U.S. government on June 15, 2011, to acquire 10 C-17 airlifters, making India the largest foreign C-17 customer. The governments finalised the Foreign Military Sales contract for the airframe on June 6, 2012.

Air Commodore Sanjay Nimesh, Air Attaché at the Embassy of India said

"The C-17 met the stipulated airlift requirements of the Indian Air Force when it flew field evaluation trials in India during June 2010," "It was exciting to see the C-17 fly again, this time with Indian Air Force markings, as the airlifter completed its first-flight milestone on Jan. 11. We look forward to the day that the first IAF C-17 flies over India."

After completing its flight trials and IAF acceptance trials, the first C-17 will arrive in India in the late summer of this year.

Boeing confirms, it is on track to deliver four more C-17s to the IAF this year and five in 2014. Boeing will support the IAF C-17 fleet through the Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) Performance-Based Logistics contract.

A Boeing spokesperson confirmed that a USAF C-17 would come for the AeroIndia 2013 show, but not the IAF aircraft.

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Indian Air Force's first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III completes "major join"

The first of ten Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy lift transporters, ordered by the Indian Air Force (IAF), came together at the airframer's Long Beach, California facility on July 31.

An IAF officer drives rivets in to the C-17 fuselage

Indian embassy officials, senior Indian Air Force officers and local elected officials including Rep. Dana Rohrabacher drove ceremonial rivets into the aircraft as they celebrated the "major join" ceremony, where sections of the fuselage are joined and the aircraft first starts looking like one.

India will be the largest C-17 operators outside the United States. These aircraft are being procured under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route of the US government. The contract worth US$ 4 billion, was signed last June. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered to the IAF in May or June 2013 and the tenth before the end of 2014. A special squadron is being created, based at Hindon Air Force Station just outside Delhi. Pilots and loadmasters from the IAF are already undergoing training in the United States.

At the ceremony Ambassador N. Parthasarathi, Consul General of India, San Francisco said

"The defense relationship between India and the United States is an important dimension of our strategic partnership," "This momentous occasion, where we see India's first C-17 take shape, further strengthens our growing relationship. As India strives to become a global reservoir of highly skilled and technologically sophisticated manpower, we will witness an escalating technology transfer, collaborative joint research and development, and co-production of defense items between our two countries."

The Indian Air Force is contemplating an addition six to ten C-17's and will be facing enormous pressure from US lawmakers who would like to see those additional orders to keep the production facility open, along with its associated employment.

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Photos: Indian Navy's first Boeing P-8I maritime aircraft completes first flight

The first of the Indian Navy's eight P-8i long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, ordered on manufacturer Boeing back in January 2009, completed its first flight earlier this morning.


IN320 took off from Renton Field at 12:02 PDT (00:32 IST) earlier today and landed 2 hours and 31 minutes later at Boeing Field in Seattle.

During the flight, Boeing test pilots performed airborne systems checks including engine accelerations and decelerations and autopilot flight modes, and took the P-8I to a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet prior to landing. In the coming weeks Boeing will begin mission systems installation and checkout work on the aircraft at a company facility near Boeing Field.


The P-8i is the Indian Navy variant of the U.S. Navy's potent P-8A Poseidon, a long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737 commercial airplane. Boeing is expected to commence delivery of the P-8i to the Indian Navy in 2013. The original contract for eight aircraft includes an option for four more aircraft.

In addition to the P-8i order, Boeing has an order from the Indian Air Force for the C-17 Globemaster III for its strategic and tactical airlift needs and is in negotiation with the Indian Defence Ministry for its AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter.

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High price threatens to derail the Indian Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III deal

The acquisition of ten Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic heavy lift transporters by the Indian Air Force, which was one the cornerstone deals during the recent visit of US President Barack Obama to India, has hit a price hurdle.

The Indian Express newspaper is reporting that the Indian Air Force had estimated the 10 aircraft deal to be around $3 billion based on the $300 million Australia is paying for each C-17 they are purchasing. Now the deal is pegged at $4.1 million by the White House, and at a whopping $5.8 billion in the official notification made last month to the US Congress.

Apparently the Indian Air Force has been taken aback at this high cost, and with various scams and revelations repeatedly tainting the ManMohan Singh administration, and with upcoming elections in key states, the Indian government is on a defensive wicket.

The Indian Express reports the Indian Ministry of Defence has written to Washington to disclose the comparative prices at which the aircraft has been sold to other nations.

This must surely be unwelcome news for Boeing which has seen the contract to its final stages, having completed commercial negotiations with the India Government.

Read the related Indian Express articles.

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Images: Indian Air Force Lockheed Martin C130J makes first flight

KC-3801, the first of six stretched fuselage Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, made its first flight, at Marietta, Georgia, USA on October 4th.

Along with these pictures, Lockheed Martin released a simple statement

The first of six C-130J Super Hercules for India took to the skies for its maiden flight yesterday. The aircraft will now complete a series of company and customer flight tests prior to delivery in December. The second and third aircraft are due to fly within the next few weeks.

All images © Lockheed Martin

Signed back in 2007, the $962 million Super Hercules contract was the first major defence deal between India and United States. These aircraft are expected to be used by the special forces of India like the Black Cats, and will be equipped with a Forward Looking Infra-red (FLIR) AAQ-22 Star Safire III sensor turret which permits operations in complete darkness as well as an in-flight refuelling probe.

The United States and Boeing are looking forward to close another deal with the Indian Air Force later this year, when President Obama visits India, for a proposed fleet of ten Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft, a deal expected to be valued around $4.4~$5.6 billion.

The C-17 procurement will be the second procurement by Indian armed forces from Boeing. The Indian Navy signed a $2.2 billion contract in January 2009, to procure eight of an Indian variant of the Boeing P-8a Poseidon called the P-8I. The P-8I is maritime patrol and anti submarine warfare aircraft based on the Boeing 737 commercial aircraft platform.

Both Lockheed Martin (F-16IN SuperViper) and Boeing (F/A-18 SuperHornet) are also competing with vendors across the globe for the $5.5+ billion Indian Air Forces Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) tender which should be finalised in 2011.

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Boeing delivers C-17 Globemaster III to Qatar

Boeing delivered the first C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the Qatar Emiri Air Force yesterday.

Qatar became the first Middle East nation to order the C-17 when it signed an agreement with Boeing on July 21, 2008, for the purchase of two advanced airlifters and associated equipment and services.

Boeing will deliver Qatar's second C-17 later this year. The company will provide operational support, including material management and depot maintenance support, under the C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership.

There are currently 205 C-17s in service worldwide. Include this delivery, 16 have been placed with international customers including Qatar, the Royal Air Force, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Australian Air Force, the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability consortium of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations, and the United Arab Emirates. 189 are with the U.S. Air Force.

Image courtesy Boeing

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