DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Indian Air Force Gets Super Hercules C-130J Airlifter

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Indian Air Force Gets Super Hercules C-130J Airlifter

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources PTI

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - December 17, 2010: Giving a boost to India’s air power, U.S. aerospace and defence giant Lockheed Martin has delivered the first batch of six state-of-the-art C-130J military transport aircraft to the Indian Air Force.

The new fleet was ordered under a USD 1.2 billion US Foreign Military Sale (India’s first) in late 2008.

“There are few mottos that impart such passion as that of the Indian Air Force, which is ‘Touch the Sky With Glory’,” said Lorraine Martin, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for C-130 Programs.

“Today begins a new glorious, enduring partnership with India as the fourth largest air force in the world proudly joins the worldwide C-130 family,” he said.

Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules is the most advanced airlifter ever built.

The C-130J combines the latest in aerospace technology with a proven, rugged airframe design, resulting in an aircraft that gives an operator more capability with greater operational efficiency.

The IAF’s new Super Hercules will be the longer fuselage or “stretched” variant of the C-130J, similar to those being delivered to the U.S. Air Force.

With this, India joins the growing number of nations with C-130J fleets including US, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom.

The C-130J carries eight 463L pallets, 97 medical litters, 24 CDS bundles, 128 combat troops and 92 paratroops.

Equipped with an Infrared Detection Set (IDS), the aircraft will be able to perform precision low-level flying, airdrops, and landing in blackout conditions.

Self protection systems and other features are included to ensure aircraft survivability in hostile air defence environments.

In addition, the aircraft is equipped with air-to-air receiver refuelling capability for extended range operations.

Lockheed Martin will integrate this equipment and other capabilities into the Indian configuration as agreed between the governments.

The aircraft is being provided to the U.S. under a package which includes six aircraft, training of aircrew and maintenance technicians, spares, ground support and test equipment, servicing carts, forklifts, loading vehicles, cargo pallets, and a team of technical specialists who will be based in India during a three year initial support period.

Also included in the package is India-unique operational equipment designed to increase Special Operations capabilities.

In addition, the C-130J Super Hercules will provide the Indian Air Force with modern and effective airlift to support a wide range of national requirements.

The C-130J takes full advantage of the Global Positioning System and other highly reliable, automated navigation and route planning aides.

This allows the cockpit crew to focus on the mission and on flying rather than on managing aircraft systems.

The military transport aircraft was received by the Indian Defence and Military Attache Brigadier Bhupesh Kumar Jain and Air Attache Air Commodore J S Walia at a ceremony held in Marietta, Georgia.

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

(Ref: Wikipedia....Indian Air Force)

The Indian Air Force, often abbreviated as the IAF with over 1,300 aircraft is the world's fourth largest air force after the United States Air Force,Russian Air Force and China's People's Liberation Army Air Force. The Indian Air Force has aircraft of British, French and Russian (erstwhile Soviet) origins. However, Russian aircraft dominate its inventory. HAL produces some of the Russian and British aircraft in India under license. The exact number of aircraft in service with the Indian Air Force cannot be determined with precision from open sources. Various reliable sources provide notably divergent estimates for a variety of high-visibility aircraft. The IAF currently operates approximately 364 fighter aircraft, over 224 ground-attack/bomber aircraft, 740 non-combat aircraft as well as approximately 135 UAVs. The following is a list of aircraft that have served in or are in service with the IAF, for aircraft programmes still under development refer to Future of the Indian Air Force.

Indian Air Force Current aircraft

Photo	Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service[4]	Notes on aircraft
Fighter aircraft[4]
	Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21	Soviet Union	Interceptor/fighter	MiG-21 Bison MiG-21Bis	121[5]	Upgraded MiG-21 Bison to be phased out by 2017[6] Other 80-90 Non-upgraded MiG-21s not included here to be phased out in 2012/2013[5]
	Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum	Soviet Union	Air superiority fighter	MiG-29S	69[7]	Known as Baaz (Hindi for Hawk) in IAF. All being upgraded to the SMT standard. [8][9]
	Sukhoi Su-30MKIFlanker-H	Russia/ India	Air superiority fighter	Su-30MKI	122[10]	The IAF have placed an order for a total of 272 Su-30MKIs of which 124 have been inducted as of July 2010[10] and two have been lost in crashes.[11] The IAF will receive 40 upgraded Su-30MKIs capable of carrying the BrahMos cruise missile possibly by 2012.[12][13]
	Dassault Mirage 2000	France	Multi-role fighter	Mirage 2000H	51[14][15]	Known as Vajra (Hindi for Thunderbolt) in the IAF. All are to be upgraded to Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2 variant.[16]
	HAL Tejas	India	Multi-role		0	5[17] aircraft are in the IAF inventory though Initial Operating Clearance is expected only in December 2010. 48 aircraft of the type are on order.[18]
Total Combat aircraft					364	5 Tejas in evaluation. 80-90 Mig-21s being phased out.
Ground attack/Bomber aircraft [4]
	Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-27	Soviet Union	Ground Attack	MiG-27UPG	100+[19]	Known as Bahadur (Hindi for Valiant) in IAF service.
	Jaguar IS/IM	France United Kingdom	Bomber	Jaguar IS/IM	139[20]	Known as Shamsher in IAF service.
Total Ground attack/Bomber aircraft					239+
Trainer aircraft
	HAL HPT-32 Deepak	India	Basic Trainer (BJT)		70	The HPT-32 was grounded in July 2009 ,[21] but was revived in May 2010[21] and is to be fitted with a parachute recovery system (PRS).[21] The HPT-32 is to be phased out soon.[21]
	HAL HJT-16 Kiran	India	Intermediate Trainer (IJT)	HJT-16	80	The HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 is also operated by the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) of the IAF.[22] The Kiran is to be replaced by the HAL HJT-36 Sitara.[23]
	BAE Hawk	United Kingdom	Advanced Trainer (AJT)	Hawk 132	39[24]	A total of 106 BAE Hawk trainers have been ordered by the IAF.[24]
Total Trainers Aircraft					189
Transport aircraft[4]
	Embraer EMB 135	Brazil	VIP transport	ECJ-135 Legacy	5
	Boeing Business Jet	United States	VIP transport	737-800	3
	Dornier Do 228	Germany India	very Light Transport	Do 228-201	40
	Hawker Siddeley HS 748	United Kingdom	Light Transport	HS 748-100	64	Once formed the backbone of the IAF's transport fleet, but now used mainly for transport training and communication duties.[25]
	Antonov An-32 Cline	Soviet Union	Medium Transport	An-32	105[26]	Known as Sutlej (name of an Indian river) in IAF service. All are being upgraded.[26]
	Ilyushin Il-76 Candid	Soviet Union	Heavy Transport	Il-76	24[27]	Known as Gajraj (Hindi for King Elephant) in IAF service.
100px	Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules	United States	Special Forces + Heavy Transport	C-130J	6[citation needed]
Total Transport Aircraft					235
AEW&C[4]
	Il-76 EL/M-2075 Phalcon	Russia Israel	AEW&C	EL/M-2075 Phalcon	3[28]	The IAF might order 2 more Phalcon systems.[28]
Total number of AWACS					3
Air Tanker Aircraft
	Ilyushin Il-78 MKI	Russia Israel	Il-76	IL-78MKI	6[29][30]
Total number of Air Tanker Aircraft					6
Helicopters[4]
	HAL Dhruv	India	Utility helicopter	Dhruv	36	In addition to transport and utility roles, Dhruvs are also used as attack helicopters.[31] 4 Dhruvs are also operated by the Indian Air Force Sarang Helicopter Display Team.[32]
	Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama	France	Utility helicopter	SA 315B Cheetah/Cheetal	28	Used mainly for high altitude operations. It is used for both transport and search-and-rescue missions.[33]
	Mil Mi-26 Halo	Soviet Union	Transport helicopter	Mi-26	4
	Mil Mi-8	Soviet Union	Transport helicopter	Mi-8	82	The Mi-8 is being progressively replaced by the Mi-17.[34][35]
	Mi-17	Soviet Union	Transport helicopter		52	The IAF has ordered 80 Mi-17V-5s to replace and augment its existing fleet of Mi-8s and Mi-17s, with an order for 59 additional helicopters to follow soon.[36]
	Mil Mi-35 Hind-E	Soviet Union	Attack helicopter	Mi-35	20	Can also act as a low-capacity troop transport.
	Aérospatiale SA 316B Alouette III	France	Utility	-	92	Used primarily for training, rescue and light transport roles in the IAF. [37] The HAL Chetak is scheduled to be replaced by HAL's Advanced Light Helicopter.[37]
100px	HAL Light Combat Helicopter	India	AIR TO AIR + Ground support	HAL LCH	179[citation needed]
Total number of Helicopters					493
Unmanned Air Vehicles
	Lakshya PTA	India		Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA)	~10	23 were orderd by India to be operated by the IAF, Indian army and Indian Navy.
	IAI Harpy	Israel		Fire & Forget Radar Emitter Destroyer	?	A UAV explosive which attacks enemy radars, but also destroys its self.
	IAI Heron	Israel	Heron I/II	Strategic Multi-Role UAV	~25	India orderd 50 to be deployed by the IAF and Indian Navy.
	IAI Searcher	Israel	Searcher II		100+
Total Unmanned Air Vehicles					135+
Total Aircraft					1,327+ aircraft and 135+ UAVs

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