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Lockheed teams up with TASL to bid for IAF transport aircraft order

ByRahul Singh
Sep 10, 2024 06:00 PM IST

Lockheed Martin has offered the air force its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and is exploring the possibility of setting up a manufacturing line in India for the plane

US aerospace firm Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) on Tuesday announced a tie up to bid for the Indian Air Force’s medium transport aircraft (MTA) competition for up to 80 planes.

The air force’s current C-130J fleet has been extensively used for a variety of missions, including support to the military’s forward deployments in the Ladakh sector where the dragging border standoff between India and China is now in its fifth year. (File Photo)

Lockheed Martin has offered the air force its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and is exploring the possibility of setting up a manufacturing line in India for the plane as it competes with two global plane makers for the multi-billion-dollar order.

“Collaborating with Lockheed Martin on the C-130J platform proposition for IAF’s MTA project is a milestone for Tata Advanced Systems,” said TASL CEO Sukaran Singh. The current announcement is also significant as it marks the entry of TASL into the defence MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) space in India for large aircraft, he said.

HT reported on June 22 that Lockheed could partner with TASL to bid for the project.

The agreement provides a framework for collaboration on other potential business opportunities, including expanding C-130J manufacturing and assembly in India to produce aircraft for the MTA programme, subject to the US and Indian government approvals, and establishing an MRO facility in India to support the IAF’s existing fleet of 12 C-130Js as well as other global Super Hercules fleets, the two firms said in a joint statement.

Lockheed Martin will establish additional production and assembly capacity in India if awarded the MTA contract, it added.

The two other players vying for the MTA order are European Airbus Defence and Space with its A-400M aircraft and Brazilian Embraer Defense and Security with its C-390 Millennium.

“The C-130J is known as the world’s workhorse not just for its large global presence, but also for its international supply chain partners including the single source provider of empennages --- Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited (TLMAL) in Hyderabad,” said Rod McLean, vice president, Air Mobility and Maritime Missions, Lockheed Martin.

TLMAL is the the single, global source of empennages (tail assembly) for the C-130J aircraft and the JV has delivered more than 220 such assemblies since it began operations in 2010. The empennage assemblies built by TLMAL have been installed on C-130Js produced in Marietta in the US and delivered by Lockheed Martin to its global customers, including IAF.

The air force’s current C-130J fleet has been extensively used for a variety of missions, including support to the military’s forward deployments in the Ladakh sector where the dragging border standoff between India and China is now in its fifth year.

The three-cornered contest to equip IAF with 40 to 80 aircraft is in line with the government’s Make in India initiative to boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector. IAF is looking for a new transport aircraft in the 18 to 30-tonne cargo carrying capacity to meet its growing airlift needs. The C-130J can carry a load of 20 tonnes compared to C-390’s 26 tonnes and A-400M’s 37 tonnes.

In February, Embraer and Mahindra signed a memorandum of understanding to bid for the MTA order. Airbus has not yet announced who it will partner with to compete for the project, even though TASL and state-run plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited could be among the likely options.

India will float a tender for the MTA procurement after the defence acquisition council (DAC) grants its acceptance of necessity (AoN) for the project. DAC is India’s apex military procurement body and headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh. Under India’s defence procurement rules, AoN by the council is the first step towards buying military equipment.

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