With the recent debacle our the selection of MRTT aircraft for the Indian Air Force in order to give it an edge during combat and peace time operations has posed a new question. According to Aviation International News the deal which has been so far delayed and cancelled twice can still be concluded as the Indian Ministry of Defence is seeking to get a bargain in this deal like they are trying to do in the Rafale deal. Major Russian international news agency Sputnik news and RBTH also reported that India is seeking the latest IL-78 instead of the Airbus A330 MRTT. Although it is not clear whether India would go for a fresh design particularly shifting from it's traditional military partner in order to enhance it's capabilities or it would go for the IL-78 with better avionics and an Israeli refueling system. If the Airbus deal is concluded the Ministry of Defence would need to spend more on setting up the correct infrastructure and handle the logistical and servicing challenges. Although if the IL-78 is selected than the infrastructure the human resource is already there in place but with the after sales service of Russian weapons manufacturer is a serious challenge for the Indian Air Force.
@NMLnetworks |
Archives
September 2016
Categories
All
|