NEW DELHI: The Defence Procurement Board (DPB) has cleared the acquisition of 60 medium transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF), setting in motion a long-pending plan to renew its tactical airlift fleet and move away from ageing Soviet-origin platforms.
Sources in the defence and security establishment said the DPB, chaired by Defence Secretary R.K. Singh, met Monday and cleared the proposal. The board vets capital acquisition cases before they move to the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) for Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), following which the process moves to tendering, trials, negotiations and contract award.
The programme, estimated at around Rs 1 lakh crore, will be pursued under the ‘Buy and Make’ route, with 12 aircraft to be acquired in flyaway condition and the remaining 48 to be manufactured in India in partnership with domestic industry, sources said.
The requirement centres on replacing the Antonov An-32 fleet, inducted in the mid-1980s and now constrained by maintenance demands and shrinking spares. The new aircraft are also expected to take on some roles of the ageing Il-76. They will bridge the gap between light transports and heavy-lift assets, while helping streamline the IAF’s airlift fleet.
The aircraft being sought must be capable of operating in high-altitude environments and from short, semi-prepared or unpaved surfaces, including Advanced Landing Grounds in Ladakh and the Northeast. These conditions impose performance limitations that few aircraft can consistently meet, particularly when carrying meaningful payloads.
During the military standoff in Eastern Ladakh, transport aircraft were central to sustaining troop deployments and moving equipment into high-altitude sectors at speed. The experience reinforced a long-held assessment within the IAF that airlift is a core operational capability, particularly along contested borders where terrain restricts surface movement.
Within this framework, a three-way contest is taking shape, with each contender offering a different mix of capability and industrial alignment.
Sources said the contest is expected to be closely fought between Brazil’s Embraer, which has partnered with Mahindra Defence for this bid and US-based Lockheed Martin, which has a long-standing manufacturing partnership with Tata Advanced Systems.
Embraer has offered the C-390 Millennium, a jet-powered aircraft with a payload of around 26 tonnes, placing it at the upper end of the IAF’s requirement. It is being pitched on higher cruise speed and multi-role capability.
Lockheed Martin’s C-130J Super Hercules, already in IAF service, sits at the lower end of the spectrum at around 20 tonnes. It benefits from a proven operational record in Indian conditions, an existing maintenance ecosystem and a partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Limited.
Airbus has proposed the A400M Atlas, a larger platform with a payload exceeding 30 tonnes. It combines tactical and strategic lift roles, though its higher capacity places it above the IAF’s stated requirement range and makes it a less natural fit for the current requirement.
Industrial considerations are expected to weigh heavily alongside operational performance.
“The decision will be driven as much by industrial factors as by operational capability,” a source explained. “Technology transfer, domestic production and sustainment will be key. It’s not just about the aircraft, it’s about the ecosystem that comes with it.”
The MTA requirement has seen delays earlier, including a failed joint development effort with Russia. With DPB clearance now in place, the programme is expected to move ahead after years of slow progress.
