U.S defence contractor Lockheed-Martin has proposed an Indian manufacturing and assembly line for C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft in India. The company, already a major supplier to the Indian military — including a fleet of 12 Super Hercules planes — has made the pitch in the context of an Indian Air Force (IAF) contest to acquire anywhere from 40-80 medium transport aircraft (MTA).
Lockheed-Martin’s Indian partner Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) currently builds major C-130J fuselage sections and aerostructures at its facility near Hyderabad. The C-130J is a potential contender in the MTA contest alongside the Embraer C-390 and Airbus A400M. The original request for information (RFI) issued by the IAF in 2022 says it’s looking for aircraft 18-27 tonne carrying capacity category, and intends to replace fleets across weight categories, spawning a more flexible new capability.
Companies expanding their local manufacturing footprint in the shadow of a major contest is not uncommon — and in fact aligns with the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ stipulations.
“Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems Limited have entered into a teaming agreement to expand upon the companies’ business relationship through the C-130J Super Hercules tactical airlifter,” the two companies said today in a joint statement, adding, “”Lockheed Martin will continue to build C-130Js for the U.S. government and other global operators at the existing Super Hercules production facility in Marietta, Georgia, USA. Lockheed Martin will establish additional production and assembly capacity in India if awarded the MTA contract.”
The two companies have also proposed establishing a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in India to support the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) existing fleet of 12 C-130Js as well as other global Super Hercules fleets. Such an MRO would be presumably contingent on expanded business in the form of more IAF orders of the C-130J, though Lockheed-Martin and other U.S. firms have for years seen India as a potential Asian hub for foreign fleets of their aviation products.
The IAF’s MTA is in its second avatar. The original medium transport aircraft program was intended as a joint enterprise between India’s HAL and Russia’s Ilyushin to build the Il-214 transporter locally to meet a large IAF requirement. Despite major work done, the program collapsed in a spiral of workshare and other disagreements between the two sides. You can read all about that here.
The MTA in its new avatar is a straight-up contest to seeks to buy and build aircraft in India. Optimism about such a procurement model flows from the successful establishment of a Tata-Airbus C295 aircraft line in Vadodara, Gujarat, with the delivery of the first Indian-built aircraft this year. The 56 C295s will replace the IAF’s vintage Avro HS748 transports.
In February this year, Brazil’s Embraer tied up with India’s Mahindra Aerospace to for the C-390 Millenium aircraft proposal in the MTA contest. Airbus’ A400M proposal will presumably with its existing partner Tata. In effect, two industry giants — Tata and Mahindra — stand to be part of the manufacture of the IAF’s MTA planes.
Ahead of the 10th edition of its ‘India Suppliers Conference’ kicking off tomorrow in Bengaluru, Michael Fernandez, India Country Head, Lockheed Martin, said, “We are excited to host the Suppliers Conference for the tenth year running and facilitate interactions between current and prospective defence & aerospace industry partners in India. The 2024 Suppliers Conference will offer Indian suppliers a platform to interact with our global partners and access new business opportunities, making India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem stronger.”