IAF to formally induct Globemaster today
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will formally induct the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy-lift transport aircraft in the “Skylords” squadron at a ceremony at the Hindon airbase in the Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh near Delhi on Monday.
“The aircraft will enhance the operational potential of the IAF with its payload carriage and performance capability and would augment the strategic reach of the nation during disaster relief or any similar mission. The induction of C-17 is a major milestone in the modernisation drive of the IAF,” defence officials said, adding that the strategic lift capability of the IAF would be enormously boosted.
The aircraft is capable of carrying between 70 to 80 tonnes of load along with 150 fully-geared troops. India had inked the deal in 2011 for acquisition of 10 C-17 aircraft from US aviation giant Boeing, in deal that had cost $4.11 billion (more than `22,000 crore then). Of the ten aircraft, three have been delivered so far to the IAF. Boeing will deliver two more C-17s to the IAF this year (2013) and the remaining five in 2014. The C-17 aircraft squadron will be based at Hindon. The C-17 aircraft will now be the biggest heavy-lift aircraft in the IAF inventory and will be able to carry nearly double the load of the IL-76 Russian-origin aircraft which the IAF operates. The first of the IAF C-17 aircraft had touched down at Hindan on June 18 after the IAF accepted the delivery of the first aircraft on June 11 at Long Beach, California. The training of the aircrew and the ground crew was conducted by the United States Air Force (USAF). The second C-17 reached India in July while the third reached the country in August.
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