6th C-17 Plane Flies in with Vintage Craft

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday formally inducted the sixth of the 10 Boeing C-17 strategic airlift into the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the Palam air base here.

The induction is part of a 2011 deal worth nearly `22,000 crore. Boeing began delivery of the planes in 2013. The supply is expected to be completed by December this year.

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha briefed Jaitley on the operational capabilities of the C-17 on the occasion, a release said.

The sixth C-17 brought to India a World War-II vintage Havard aircraft that had gone through a refit. The Havard was flown in the C-17’s belly, the IAF officers said.

Havard, a 1930s aircraft, was restored as part of IAF’s plan to bring back to life its nine vintage planes.

The C-17 is the biggest aircraft in IAF’s inventory. The first of the 10 C-17s had touched down in India on June 18 last year.

The C-17 has been bought by the IAF to enhance its strategic lift capability for troops movement and equipment transportation to long distances, as the plane has a 75-tonne payload capability at a range of 4,500 km.

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