India is expected to ink a Rs 8,000 crore contract with Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) for six aerial tanker planes to meet the requirement of the Indian Air Force (IAF) for mid-air refuelling aircraft. According to a report by news agency ANI, the government-owned firm is the single vendor for the project.
Mid-air refuelling is crucial for extending the range, endurance, and flexibility of IAF's frontline fighters like Su-30MKI and Rafale, which require aerial refuelling for extended missions beyond their internal fuel capacity.
IAF currently operates six Russian-origin Ilyushin Il-78MKI tankers. However, these are plagued by issues like chronic serviceability and maintenance problems.
According to the report, if the Indian side decides to award the contract to IAI, the company will turn six second-hand Boeing 767 commercial aircraft into aerial tanker jets and deliver them to the IAF.
IAI has reportedly agreed to ensure that around 30 per cent of the aircraft will be made-in-India content, in line with the indigenisation push of the government in the defence sector.
According to the report, the Indian side launched a tender for the same a few years ago, and saw participation from European and Russian firms, but IAI was the only one left standing in the end as the other firms failed to meet the requirements, which include incorporation of made-in-India content.
India, which has been looking to procure the mid-air refuelling planes for the past 15 years, resorted to wet-leasing the as a stop-gap solution to address urgent operational gaps caused by the issues faced by the existing Soviet-origin refuelling aircraft. Earlier this year, the defence ministry signed a contract with US-based Metrea Management for wet-leasing of FRA Stratotanker refuelling aircraft.
