DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Delivers Indian Air Force’s 4th C-17 Globemaster III
*In February 2011, the IAF and Boeing agreed to terms for the order of 10 C-17s with an option for six more. Deliveries of the 10 aircraft are to begin in 2013.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Boeing(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 30, 2013: The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) fourth Boeing [NYSE: BA] C-17 Globemaster III departs for India from Long Beach on Oct. 19, keeping the company on track to deliver a total of five advanced airlifters to the IAF this year.
Boeing will deliver five more C-17s to India in 2014 to complete the contract.
Since its first flight in 1991, the C-17 has amassed more than 2.6 million flying hours airlifting troops and large cargo, delivering humanitarian supplies by precision airdrop, and performing lifesaving aeromedical missions. 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.
*Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III Chronicle - Description
Aircraft requirement, and to replace its fleet of aging transport planes. In January 2010, the U.S. Government received a request from India for 10 C-17s through the U.S.'s Foreign Military Sales program, which was approved by the U.S. Congress in June 2010. On 23 June 2010, the Indian Air Force successfully test-landed a USAF C-17 at the Gaggal Airport, India to complete the IAF's C-17 trials. In February 2011, the IAF and Boeing agreed to terms for the order of 10 C-17s with an option for six more; the order was approved by the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security on 6 June 2011. Deliveries began in June 2013 and are to continue until 2014. The total cost of the ten-plane order is US$4.1 billion, and it will make IAF the second-largest C-17 operator. It was reported that the Indian Air Force has finalized plans to buy six more C-17s in the 13th five-year plan (2017-2022).
The aircraft provides strategic airlift and the ability to deploy special forces in the event of national emergencies or terrorism. They are operated by the air force in diverse terrain - from Himalayan air bases in North India at 13,000 ft to Indian Ocean bases in South India. The Indian Air Force's C-17s are based at Hindon Air Force Station, and are operated by the No. 81 Squadron Skylords. The first C-17 was delivered in January 2013 for testing and training;
it was officially accepted on 11 June 2013. The second C-17 was delivered on 23 July 2013 and put into service immediately. IAF Chief of Air Staff Norman AK Browne called the Globemaster III "a major component in the IAF's modernization drive" while taking delivery of the aircraft at Boeing's Long Beach factory. On 2 September 2013, the Skylords squadron with three C-17s officially entered service with the Indian Air Force.
The Skylords regularly fly mission within India, to places like Port Blair, Leh and Thoise.
The IAF first used the C-17 to transport equipment of an army infantry battalion to Port Blair on 1 July 2013. They have also been sent on foreign deployments. These include a flight to Tajikistan in August which carried special equipment and instrument landing aids, and another flight is planned in September for Rwanda to deliver heavy equipment to support the 4,000 Indian troops deployed in Congo as part of Indian Army United Nations peacekeeping missions. One C-17 was used for transporting relief materials during Cyclone Phailin.
*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Boeing
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