Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 13: The Defence Ministry on Wednesday has issued a tender of a whopping Rs 1 Lakh crore. The tender has been released to procure 60 Multirole transport aircraft (MTA) for the Indian Air Force.
The Multirole transport aircraft (MTA) will be a replacement for the IAF’s ageing fleet of cargo and transport aircraft. This will be a major boost to the Atmanirbhar Bharat roadmap of India. The Indian companies can partner with global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for indigenous aircraft manufacturing.
Sources said that around 20% of the aircraft is likely to be inducted in fly-away condition, whereas the rest will be manufactured in India.
The MTA will have enhanced capability to rapidly move troops, equipment and other military assets over long distances. These can be used for aerial refuelling, ensuring additional tanker capability for the IAF.
The IAF comprises of 12C- 13OJ Super Hercules aircraft and induction of C- 295 is underway. The programme also involves Airbus and Tata with a fleet of 70 aircraft. Similarly, another tender for 114 multirole fighter aircraft has also been issued.
The proposed induction will strengthen India’s domestic aerospace manufacturing ecosystem while opening gateways for its global presence in the defence industry.
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