NEW DELHI - The Indian Air Force has finally cleared a proposal to purchase three additional C-17 heavy airlifters from Boeing to add to the ten aircraft on order. But due to the tardiness in signing off on the procurement the stock of available C-17s is down to only one unit left. Boeing's production facility at Long Beach is currently being placed in shut down as the production line for the C-17 is halted. While a stockpile of five airlifters had been available when the IAF first began examining the procurement back in April an order by Qatar for four units has left Boeing short of the Indian requirement.
What makes the situation more galling for the IAF is that the original 10-unit, $4.1 billion contract signed on June 14, 2011, included an option for six more C-17s that was never acted upon due to a shortage of available funding. Meanwhile the other heavy-lift platform serving with the IAF - the Ilyushin Il-76 "Gajraj" - began arriving in 1985 and a determination on its continued use will need to be undertaken within the next 5-10 years.
Thus while the IAF recognizes the need for more very-heavy transport aircraft, the manner by which the service - and the overall government defense procurement process - conducts its business appears about to boomerang back to its detriment.
Still, there is the slim hope that retired U.S. units or orders to a third party that are retracted may produce the additional numbers necessary to meet the IAF requirement. With the current procurement being arranged through the U.S. Department of Defense' government-to-government foreign military sales (FMS) procedure the hope is that a solution will be found.
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