India plans to spend US$10.5 billion to buy 60 medium-sized transport aircraft, Lockheed Martin strives to expand local production

(Central News Agency reporter Li Jinwei, New Delhi 4) India plans to spend US$10.5 billion (approximately NT$334.1 billion) to buy 60 medium-sized transport aircraft to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet. Lockheed Martin said that if it wins the bid, it will expand cooperation with Indian companies and increase production capacity in India.

The Times of India pointed out that the Indian Air Force has an old fleet and this time it hopes to purchase new transport aircraft to modernize the fleet and replace the old aircraft.

According to the content of the bid, India plans to spend US$10.5 billion to purchase 60 medium-sized transport aircraft. At least five companies are currently bidding. The new aircraft India hopes to purchase this time are aircraft that can carry 18 to 60 tons and can take off at high altitudes or simple airports. The five companies currently bidding are all Indian companies, but all are expected to cooperate with foreign companies.

Dan Tenney, senior vice president of global business development and strategy at Lockheed Martin, told the Press Trust of India (PTI) that the company has long cooperated with India's Tata to produce tail wings and related components for the C-130J transport aircraft. If it wins the bid this time, it will also increase its production capacity in India.

Lockheed Martin has partnered with Tata to produce the components needed for the global C-130J at its production line in Hyderabad, India.

According to the current plan, if Lockheed Martin successfully wins the order, it will deliver 12 new aircraft, and then manufacture the other 48 aircraft in India. The company also proposes to upgrade the existing 12 C-130Js of the Indian Air Force, so that India will have a fleet of 72 aircraft with advanced equipment in the future.

The Economic Times of India pointed out that the main mission of the Indian Air Force's current C-130J fleet is to perform high-altitude combat missions in the Ladakh region; in addition, it has performed humanitarian rescue missions during floods in Nepal, and also evacuated Indian citizens to Sudan in 2023.