Israel recently got FMS cleared for 8 KC46 worth 2.4 billion USD.
Its better we simply buy the tankers.
Its better we simply buy the tankers.
The Indian deal I quote did not include maintenance or infrastructure costs as was not part of the RFP.
Outright purchase might be the most cost efficient strategy for the long term but you have to look at it from the short term perspective when you consider countries like India. I'd recommend you guys to dig through the reason why A330 was not signed up for despite winning the competition twice. Finance ministry was adamant about signing up for the deal due to its high acquisition cost that is spread over a period of 5-7 years. Lease might be preferred because the cost is spread over a longer period of time. It will also mandate the operator to guarantee a high rate of availability which might not be cheaper to ensure when the air force maintains it.
KC-46 is smaller and will have higher maintenance cost over a longer period of time as the Boeing 767 platform is significantly more maintenance intensive than an Airbus A330. Not to mention the delays and issues Boeing is facing due to serious issues in quality at the KC-46 assembly plant.
P.S: Have personal experience with both B767 and A330 platforms, the latter is the best choice anyday. Not to mention the commanlity with future AWACS-I platforms.
Good Day!
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And will continue to spend more time as the Government has simply not allocated the necessary budgetary support.
The glaring absence of orders for LCH, LCA is a stark reminder of the fact that there is very little money for allocation to encourage integration of home grown tech.
It is easy to argue for integration of home grown tech but that is possible only when your tech has been proven and your security imperatives are within control.
The glaring absence of orders for LCH, LCA is a stark reminder of the fact that there is very little money for allocation to encourage integration of home grown tech.
It is easy to argue for integration of home grown tech but that is possible only when your tech has been proven and your security imperatives are within control.
Refulling system can be modified, Israelis have done in past for us. I feel we might have the necessary knowledge to do it ourselves as well by now.
I am not telling that k46 is of no use to IAF, it has normal probe type systems too. My query is other than c17 any IAF aircraft can refuel from a boom?
IAF set to lease A330 mid-air refueller from France for training
The A330 refuellers of France and UAE air force have been used to ferry as many as 17 Rafale omni-role fighters to India from Merignac-Bordeaux air base since July 2020. Another seven fighters are due to arrive in India in May
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has approached the French government to lease one Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport aircraft for training purposes as a precursor to lease five more mid-air refuellers for increasing the combat capability and radius of its multi-role fighters.
The leasing will be done on government-to-government basis with the IAF already issuing a request for information (RFI) for a single aircraft while a request for proposals route will be used for the additional five refuellers on lease. The issue was discussed during Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria’s visit to France last week.
“With IAF looking towards A330 refuellers for its future, it is only natural that its pilots are trained in advance to handle the aircraft as mid-air refuelling is a precision process with zero margin of error and huge stakes,” said an IAF official.
RFI for wet lease of 1 tanker issued last year. 6 parties have responded. Evaluation under process. Hopefully decision will be made shortly.
The kind of delays I see in Indian defence procurement, at the behest of either domestic or foreign vendors is leading to such a huge loss to country in defence preparedness, NOT ONLY LIMITED TO TANKERS. We could had used our existing civilian aircraft fleet for conversion, might had gone for C130, C295 etc for tanker support role, but hey be cool! It's all well in Zombieland...
If my understanding is correct, then any aircraft in service of Indian airforce, is having boom operated refuller system in another airforce/Navy/marine service, then IAF can also use the same type of aircraft for boom operated refulling with minimal modifications/retrofitting. Few examples that do come to mind are C130J super Hercules, C17, C295, Recon aircraft like Boing 707 etc.
A330 has a good non fuel cargo carrying capacity. I wonder if it is possible to modify the internal structure of the aircraft so that instead of two decks , only one single deck is there, so that it can also function to carry over sized cargo, like maybe trucks etc.
No single person wants to take the initiative so as to shield themselves from any blame in case anything goes wrong.
This will mean the A330 from France isn't happening. HAL will likely buy A330 or B767 from civilian market and convert it.
This is the problem with what ought to be one of our most technical arms of the armed services. They just don't have any forward planning or scope for contingencies. Either they can't read the political tea leaves about what's possible & what isn't or they're plain stupid.
This mid air refueller is only part of the problem . Upgrades / modernization & fresh procurement of new platforms is another huge issue. Quite frankly if this is the solution they've sought today what prevented them from doing so at least 5 yrs ago.
After all the west has gone several steps ahead & contracted refuellers from civilian companies on a part time basis which I think is a foolish & short sighted move just as I think contracting a plane to serve two roles as a refueller & AEW is a foolish move for they both are full time requirements