The photos above show Indian Air Force officers in February this year getting a hands-on tour of the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. IAF personnel are getting a far more personal experience with the Globemaster-III right now (from the same squadron above) as part of the Cope India 09 airlift and airdrop special missions exercise. According to sources, the government will shortly kickstart Foreign Military Sale (FMS) procedures to procure a fleet of ten C-17 Globemaster-IIIs from Boeing.
US and Indian forces will “exchange airlift, airland and airdrop delivery techniques, participate in aeromedical and disaster management exercises, conduct cooperative flight operations, to include aircraft generation and recovery, low-level navigation, tactical airdrop, and air-land missions; and conduct subject matter expert exchanges in the operations, maintenance, and rigging disciplines.”
Photos ©Copyright USAF
Why not buy a An-124 with a RR or a GE engine, why pay double the amount to buy from USA???
please tell us which helicopters, infantry fighting vehicles Russia and India are set to jointly develop.
Global security says them link –
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2009/10/mil-091015-rianovosti04.htm
So MMS has finally started to pay back the amrikis for their unclear deal. Forget about TNs now, India is stuck with Amrikan bunnys for eternity.
finally…was wondering y the MOD was taking so long to clear the deal..
Isn't the C-17 production line destined to shut down in 2010 due to lack of orders from the US govt?
If that happens, how does that impinge on maintenance/servicing if India does go for these aircraft?
> Isn't the C-17 production line destined to shut down in 2010
no
http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_13306605
"would keep the Long Beach plant open through at least spring 2012."
and every year congress has made it clear it has NO intention of letting the C-17 line close
they'll probably be ordered for at least another 10 years
> how does that impinge on maintenance/servicing if India does go for these aircraft?
not at all
the US will have at least 215 and thus will make arrangements to guarantee the availability of spares
A white elephant if ever there was one. The runways on most Indian airports are not strong enough to hold this beast at MTOW without damage. This a/c will only be able to fly out from and to a very limited list of airports in India, and in any conflict these airports can be easily targeted to disable them via cruise missiles, thus castrating entire 'heavy lift' arm of IAF.
First lets upgrade our infrastructure and then purchase heavy beasts. Otherwise IAF will look like all those dumb people who buy Mercedes S class in India which get stranded on our roads at speed breakers and have to be rescued by tow trucks.
If that happens, how does that impinge on maintenance/servicing if India does go for these aircraft?
Mukherjee ?????, we never order spares in sufficient quantity. This has two benefits:
1. It allows foriegn suppliers to control our assets
2.It gives babus and netas a second and third round to collect ribes when ordering spares.
Win-win all around.
Sitting in the state-of-the-art and much admired C-17 fondling the world class controls and savoring the feel of real Texan leather on their backs, these Indian aviator officers will never be the same again. Sadly they will have to be let go from the IAF, as they start to question: why must I fly a Russian aircraft that shakes more than a tower of washing machines on high? why must I fly with my balls and tongue hanging out and with whitened knuckles just to land at night in a Russian freaky creaky when there are all these incredibly cool landing and missile avoiding features on the American C-17?
BMW ride of the skies, the C-17. Sadly for asknig these and other questions, these officers will now be banished because they actually want something that is not bare level and can fly for 40 years.
Lo behold! Vincent the fart starts off his quota for the day with a particularly smelly one. Hey Vinnie, go easy on the peanut butter will ya? It's really playing havoc with your tummy and in your case, the more you fart, the more your brain gets fogged.
hahahahaha well said buddy…..
@Vincent
"why must I fly a Russian aircraft that shakes more than a tower of washing machines on high?"
>> Because this "high tech" C17 will turn into a museum during sanctions.
When will our govt learn? US giving huge free of cost advanced weapons that may include Predator UAV and attack helicopter like Super Cobra.
USA is playing a game with India and want to use us as it used Pakistan against USSR.
so finally the MOD is ordering c17..what took them so long to order??
EVEN CANADIANS AGREE THAT IL-76 HAS MUCH BETTER QUALITIES IN TERMS OF RELIABILITY, LANDING WEIGHTS AND STOL PERFORMANCE
EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS LINK :
http://boeingc17.blogspot.com/
Years ago I had read comments on forums regarding c-5 vs an-124. The US fanboys kept saying how superior C-5 was while an 124 was just a bad copy.
Now years later the same US wants to jointly produce an 124 with russians, while C-5s rest in peace or shall we say 'rot in piss'. Just the same old arguments how bad russian planes are. Ask IAF their experience with Su 30s or Il 76 then some………….