Indian Air Force AN-32 Cargo Planes to be Upgraded

Armand2REP

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Why is everyone hating on the An-32? It is a venerable aircraft and spending only $400 million to upgrade over 100 aircraft is a good deal. To replace them would cost $2.5 billion and up. It is the perfect solution for penny pinching FinMin.
 

JBH22

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Why is everyone hating on the An-32? It is a venerable aircraft and spending only $400 million to upgrade over 100 aircraft is a good deal. To replace them would cost $2.5 billion and up. It is the perfect solution for penny pinching FinMin.
x2 i get an impression that everyone wants new flashy hardware at all cost rather spending billions on tactical transport better spend millions on upgrade of these planes bwt Ukranians were fast on this one..
 

arnabmit

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Ukraine to send next batch of upgraded An-32s to India in August | idrw.org

Ukraine is preparing to send to India in August a sixth batch of five An-32 light transport aircraft, which were modernized at the facilities of the Ukrainian defence industry on the order of the Indian Air Force."The technical acceptance by the customer of the next batch of An-32s has already begun. Once it is completed, the transport aircraft are due to depart from Kyiv to Kanpur in August," a source in the defense sector familiar with the implementation of the Indian contract told Interfax-Ukraine.

The source said that the Indian customer had currently ensured the full supply to Ukraine of the An-32s the modernization, which, under the contract, should be carried out at Ukrainian defense industry facilities. "Of the 40 aircraft that are to be upgraded in Ukraine, 25 have already been modernized and passed to the customer, and five more are at the stage of technical acceptance and will be sent to India soon. A seventh batch of An-32s is to be transferred to the Indian side by the end of the year.

An eighth batch arrived in Kyiv for modernization in mid-July, and its transfer to the customer is scheduled for early 2014," he said. "Given the high pace and quality of the modernization work by the Ukrainian side, the parties are currently discussing the possibility of increasing capacity utilization as part of the contract," he said. The contract, worth some $400 million, involves repairing and modernizing 103 An-32 aircraft for the Indian Air Force. It was signed in July 2009 between the Indian Air Force and Spectechnoexport, a subsidiary of Ukrspecexport.

Under the contract, 40 airplanes are to be modernized in Ukraine and the rest of the aircraft at the BRD-1 aviation plant of the Indian Air Force in Kanpur (North India). Ukraine's Antonov Plant and Civil Aviation Plant 410 are executing the contract. As part of the upgrade, the Indian aircraft will be fitted with around 25 types of modern equipment made in Ukraine and other countries. The equipment increases flight safety. The upgraded An-32 will be able to land on an ICAO category II approach. Fuel consumption and the mass of the empty upgraded aircraft will be lower than for the basic model. In addition, in line with a three-year contract worth $110 million signed in December 2009 by OJSC Motor Sich (Zaporizhia) and the Indian Air Force, the AI-20 engines of the Indian An-32s are to be upgraded. The An-32 is a light transport aircraft with a maximum payload of 7.5 tonnes and a range of 800 kilometers.

Its cruise speed is 470-530 kilometers per hour. The aircraft is capable of transporting 42 paratroopers. According to expert estimation, more than 350 An-32 aircraft have been sold to 20 countries as of today. The Antonov Plant is planning to present the An 148 300MP aircraft at a number of tenders conducted by the Defense Ministry of India for the purchase of maritime patrol aircraft.
 

Sridhar

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Antonov in India

The era of Antonov aircrafts in India began over 50 years ago, with the supply of the first An-12 in 1961. Since then, India has purchased 46 planes of this type, serving both military and civil purposes.

Another important benchmark was achieved through joint research and the creation of the An-32 aircraft, produced exclusively for India and capable of performing flights from high-mountain airfields (up to 4,500 m). In many cases, the plane served as an irreplaceable transportation tool to remote locations and is still a reliable workhorse, notwithstanding its solid exploitation term. In 2009, Ukraine and India signed a contract to modernise 105 An-32 aircraft, currently serving the Indian Air Force (IAF). Thus, it comes as no surprise that An-32 proudly participated in the India Republic Day military parade on January 26, 2011.

On June 15, 2009 State Foreign Trade Enterprise "SpetsTechnoExport" signed the contract with the Ministry of Defence of India to the amount of $397.7 million for Life Extension, Overhaul and Re-equipment of 105 An-32 aircraft of the IAF.

According to the contract State Enterprise "Plant 410 Civil Aviation" and State Enterprise "Antonov" perform overhaul works on 40 aircraft in Ukraine and assist in deployment of overhaul facilities for rest 65 aircraft at the IAF's No. 1 Base Repair Depot, Kanpur, UP.

At present, 30 overhauled and re-equipped aircraft have been handed over to the Customer. Ten An-32 are now in Ukraine for completion of the works.

..:: India Strategic ::. Military Aviation: Wings of Ukraine in the Indian sky
 

tramp

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This is alarming indeed. (Unless it is an All Fools Day prank)

Indian warplanes go missing during upgrade in Ukraine – report

Ukraine is reportedly failing India with upgrades to its An-32 transport aircraft. At least five planes have allegedly gone missing in Ukraine. Meanwhile, work on Indian soil has been halted after Ukrainian engineers were pulled out.

The Indian Air Force sent 40 An-32s to Ukraine to be upgraded at the Kiev-based state-owned Antonov plant under a 2009 service contract. But the last five of them have become "untraceable," an Indian Air Force official told Defense News.

Another 64 An-32 had to be upgraded locally, but Ukrainian engines tasked with the job departed and the supply of spare parts stopped, he added.

"These five aircraft are almost lost as it is difficult to trace them and diplomatic efforts to find their whereabouts have failed," the anonymous official is quoted as saying.

Earlier Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said the last batch of An-32s sent to Ukraine for upgrade had been "stuck" there due to the ongoing crisis, Economic Times reported.

The contract to upgrade India's fleet of An-32 is worth $400 million and was expected to run through 2017. The goal is to increase the aircraft life expectancy from 25 to 40 years and provide it with improved avionics, a modernized cockpit and an increase in capacity from 6.7 to 7.5 tons.

"As AN-32 formed the bulk of the medium-lift segment of the transport fleet, urgent replacement of the Avro fleet, finalization of the joint development of medium transport aircraft and possible fresh purchases are some of the options which IAF will need to work on an urgent basis," commented retired Air Force wing commander Bhim Singh.

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The military news website contacted the Ukrainian embassy, which said Antonov must resolve this issue with the Indian Air Force on its own. The company would not comment on the issue.

India's defense ministry has denied speculation that its An-32 transport planes have been going missing in Ukraine.

"Media reports about the Indian military aircraft disappearing during the modernization are unfounded. This is confirmed by the Indian Air Force. The last batch of five An-32 aircraft, which were sent to Ukraine for repairs, remains at the factory in Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement.

India and Russia are developing a medium-lift transport plane called UAC/HAL Il-214, which would replace the aging An-32 fleet. Russia's UAC and Hindustan Aeronautics have established a joint venture for the purpose, but the project is progressing slowly due to issues relating to production work sharing.

Ukraine is undergoing a period of political and economic turbulence in the wake of the armed coup, which deposed President Viktor Yanukovich last year and imposed an anti-Russian government in Kiev. The new elected government is pursuing a policy of severing economic ties with Russia, adversely affecting some industries like the defense sector in both countries, which were historically interlinked.

The Indian An-32 upgrade by Ukrainians involves shipment of parts from Russia.
 

sgarg

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This is indeed serious.

a. Five planes are stuck in Ukraine.
b. Worse is that supply chain is broken. That makes supporting the remaining planes a nightmare.

It is unthinkable that IAF operates these planes despite full knowledge of the problems with supply chain. IAF has not made any serious efforts to find or develop sources of parts other than OEM. IAF has also not found any alternatives.

I think there is no option but to buy more C-130 in the short term. However sincere and intensive efforts should be made to develop local sources of An-32 parts.
 

uoftotaku

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The report of 5 missing planes was proved to be false by the official Spokesperson for the MOD. However it doesn't change the fact that the upgrade program is in limbo due to the ongoing conflict and with no alternative suppliers able to support such a comprehensive overhaul, it would seem the fleet is headed into oblivion as only 35 of the 104 birds left have been upgraded and even basic spares support even for these seems to be stopped.

While I would be happy seeing IAF ordering more C-130's, honestly it is too much aircraft for the kind of role the AN-32 plays. Remember that these birds are specifically customized for operation in Hot & High, Short, Rough airfields in the Himalayas and feature a kind of over-engineering that cannot easily be replicated (let alone by the Hercules). The AN-32's have been surprisingly reliable and safe workhorses given the circumstances and provide a vital air bridge to our remote outposts and villages. The only viable replacement would be the MTA project if they resolve the current standoff on the engine selection. Failing that, the Embraer KC-390 with more powerful engines (maybe the F117 engines used on the C-17) could perform the same role.
 

sgarg

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@uoftotaku, USSR broke down soon after An-32 was acquired. So IAF had adequate time to develop local sources of parts. Even drawings of each component could have been obtained from Antonov for little money. The problem is attitude when IAF is absolutely against local manufacture that reflects in thousand ways.

There is no option left except reverse-engineering or replacement. Replace the parts which cannot be reverse-engineered; and reverse-engineer the rest.

You are correct that specialized role of moving troops to Himalayan heights cannot be done by other planes to the same degree as was done by An-32. This is the reason the problem MUST be fixed.

Dis-assemble one aircraft completely and work on this method as I just mentioned "reverse-engineer if possible else replace the parts".
 
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tramp

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Its just a hunch... may be Ukraine was forced to cannibalize some aircraft to find spares for the rest after Russia stopped supplies.
 

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