It is
@SajeevJino who said, "you have no idea..." and it seems to be true from your examples and instances . Same way your father used floppy disc, why are you using Flashdrives/Memory Chips? Oh, from your ideology it is pretty clear that you are still dwelling with Floppy Drive don't you? Have I ever mentioned to scrap those IL 76/78, you are living in delusion, you create an idea/situation of your own and start defending it without any support. Better you ask IAF why they have chosen C-17s and C-130s you will get the real picture.
Please develop a habit of reading the posts fully rather than jumping to the conclusion prematurely. So try to read the post again and understand what is written and then come up with your defending ideas. But I am sure you won't.
Why IAF rejected Russian Mi26s though they are highly capable and Chinooks does not come closer? If life of an aircraft is the primary factor then tell the MoD to upgrade the AVROs, they will last for at least a decade.
BTW, Which forward bases are served by C-17s (Don't tell me Jodhpur, Udaipur and Bikaner). I need a list, not the bases where C-17s landed for testing purpose?
@pmaitra there is no question about capability. The concern is about availability.