C-17 Globemaster III (IAF)

[sgarg]

Don't worry. C17 has chaff dispenser which will protect it from any missile attack.

The IL-76 that got shot down in Ukraine also had chaff launchers, and that also of Western origin.

The Ukraine is being supplied with a lot of NATO "defensive" equipment. Do not be so cock sure about things. Big planes landing and taking off are sitting ducks.

 

[Dhairya Yadav]

Heavy transports will never land in DBO or other such forward air strips.

The IL-76 and C-17 will remain quite far from battle lines. You have already seen what happened to planes landing at Donetsk airport. They get shot down. Transports are very easy to shoot down, as these are huge planes (very big RCS) and a missile will get a lock from very very far away.

Nobody is talking about war scenario. For logistics of Army , Border Security Forces in Peace time, DBO should be used extensively.

 

[sgarg]

You can expect repeated attacks on Indian airbases in case of conflict with China. They will try to stop Indian logistics.

Moving stuff into Assam will not be so easy as many people assume. The focus should be on road and rail links and also boats for river crossings that can take military trucks.

You will also need trucks that can move cross-country in much higher numbers.

Planes are no sure shot deal.

The problem is our Army and Air Force miss too many detail in hurry to push big ticket purchases. Big purchases = big packets. Lot of packets keep everybody happy in Indian system. War is a distant thing and nobody actually understands war. India has very little experience of real war.

 

[sgarg]

Nobody is talking about war scenario. For logistics of Army , Border Security Forces in Peace time, DBO should be used extensively.

Any advantage that you see from the above? What will India achieve by supplying Army, BSF by C-17 in "peace-time"?

 

[Dhairya Yadav]

Any advantage that you see from the above? What will India achieve by supplying Army, BSF by C-17 in "peace-time"?

You dont think BSF , Army needs more support in peacetime to protect the border ?
If China makes any aggression towards India through Air, Akash SAMs can handle it comfortably,
which can shoot down any enemy aircraft trying to lock on targets in Indian Territory .
However, As I said, DBO needs Infrastructure which should be capable of handling Akash SAMs.
without those, C17 are like sitting ducks for PLAAF .

 

[sgarg]

DBO is just a dirt strip. What are the facilities available to support an Akash squadron??

Akash as I understand is being deployed for air defence of air-bases and will be deployed for air defence of army bases as army starts getting the systems.

Akash for DBO is a very distant dream.

What infrastructure does DBO has for supporting planes like C-17. You need a garrison, refuelling equipment etc. It is a very high elevation airstrip which means very difficult for heavy planes.

India has the wonderful An-32 - the flying truck which is more suitable for DBO.

 

[Dhairya Yadav]

DBO is just a dirt strip. What are the facilities available to support an Akash squadron??

Akash as I understand is being deployed for air defence of air-bases and will be deployed for air defence of army bases as army starts getting the systems.

Akash for DBO is a very distant dream.

What infrastructure does DBO has for supporting planes like C-17. You need a garrison, refuelling equipment etc. It is a very high elevation airstrip which means very difficult for heavy planes.

India has the wonderful An-32 - the flying truck which is more suitable for DBO.

which is why I said it needs Infrastructure. An32 is more vulnerable to AAMs than C17 actually. It lacks advanced countermeasures available on C17. However, I agree losing a C17 would be much harmful than losing a bunch of An32. India has strong tactical transport capabilities but as of now, only mediocre strategic transport. We need more C17 and/or Il76 for that. And just so you know, C17 can land at DBO in its present state too. It was built to operate from both dirt and Asphalt Runways.

 

[sgarg]

Any airstrip or airbase that is within artillery range is useless for heavy transports.

The counter-measures are not enough when the plane can be seen by enemy radar from 400 km away.

 

[RajG]

C17 purchase does raise some reasonable questions: why not IL76? why strategic lift when combat strength is so low? Boeing closed it production line after servicing India's order, are these end of life-cycle products? (Incidentally the artillery gun that US was pushing also closed its production line)

But the two things that I think C17 has going for it is that:
1. If Boeing had used best practices from its civilian aircraft line in designing C17, then it should have higher availability and lesser turn around time (The Airbus refuelers might be a good idea for the same reason. In their case they use the exact same fuselage with blacked out passenger windows). Ilyusin's civilian projects were not that successful.

2. The C17 is the only modern looking ac in the IAF fleet (that and Druv). Even the most gorgeous fighter, Su30MKI, looks a bit long in the tooth. A pic of any ac with the C17 in Indian colours in the background still makes it look good. Let them have it, atleast until they induct the Tejas

 

[Dhairya Yadav]

C17 purchase does raise some reasonable questions: why not IL76? why strategic lift when combat strength is so low? Boeing closed it production line after servicing India's order, are these end of life-cycle products? (Incidentally the artillery gun that US was pushing also closed its production line)

But the two things that I think C17 has going for it is that:
1. If Boeing had used best practices from its civilian aircraft line in designing C17, then it should have higher availability and lesser turn around time (The Airbus refuelers might be a good idea for the same reason. In their case they use the exact same fuselage with blacked out passenger windows). Ilyusin's civilian projects were not that successful.

2. The C17 is the only modern looking ac in the IAF fleet (that and Druv). Even the most gorgeous fighter, Su30MKI, looks a bit long in the tooth. A pic of any ac with the C17 in Indian colours in the background still makes it look good. Let them have it, atleast until they induct the Tejas

Welcome. Go to Introduction/Greetings section and introduce yourself.

 

[RajG]

Welcome. Go to Introduction/Greetings section and introduce yourself.

Thanks. Already done.

 

[biswaranjanrath.sipu]

Iaf is planning to build advance landing strips in both kargil and ladakh .so definitely it will give easier access of c17 to the border areas.

 

[HMS Astute]

C-17 looks so badass, for a big country like India should purchase additional 50x of them.

 

[Jagdish58]

C-17 looks so badass, for a big country like India should purchase additional 50x of them.

After been kicked all over in IDF u came here very funny don't start your anti russian theory here as well or u will find no place to hide

 

[rohit b3]

C-17 looks so badass, for a big country like India should purchase additional 50x of them.

India is gonna induct some 45 HAL/UAC MTA. Smarter choice if u ask me.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

The C-17 Globemaster III passed an important milestone at the Flight Test Center on May 3, 1994. On that day, he Air Force's new jet transport successfully made its first aerial delivery using the low altitude parachute extraction system (LAPES). LAPES demands perfect stability and controllability from the delivery aircraft. The C-17 Combined Test Force at AFFTC carried out the first such test using the first production-category Globemaster III. On that day, the heavy lifter made its pass at 130 knots (about 150 mph) with its wheels just 2 feet above the south lake bed.

Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES)

 

[Neeraj Mathur]

guys are we going to order more C 17 bcoz production line is closing.

 

[uoftotaku]

No more "new orders" now as the Boeing line in Long Beach has closed for good. Boeing had warned all its current and potential customers more than 2 years back of a hard deadline to place new orders as a.) long lead items from sub-cons had to be ordered on specific timelines b.) it had a plan in place to gradually lay off line employees whose specific tasks became gradually redundant as the production process wound down c.) the supply chain would gradually shut down and restarting production for specific parts would ensure huge cost escalation. Boeing has built 10 so called "white tails" which in itself was an effort to keep its line open as long as possible but 6-8 of these have already been snapped up so that leaves the IAF with just 2 potential additions to their fleet. The option clause for 6 additional birds + standing requirement for a total of 24 thus goes down the drain as our procurement planners are still fast asleep. The sad part (or dangerous since its a critical defense matter) is that there are precious few alternatives to this unique aircraft. The IL-476 is a boondogle, the A-400M inadequate, AN-70 dead (for all intents and purposes) and the Kawasaki C-2 hobbled by high cost and Japan's export ban. There are no other aircraft even in the development pipeline at this point.

 

[Abhi9]

Evacuation of Indians from Yemen

 

[Zebra]

Defence News - Last Chance For India to Buy More IAF C-17s

Saturday, April 18, 2015
By : SP Guide Publications

With Australian Air Force ordering two more C-17s, the number of white-tail platforms (fully built but unsold) drops to five, giving the Indian government one final opportunity to augment its 10-strong fleet of the heavy transport jet. Boeing's massive C-17 facility at Long Beach, California is expected to be converted into an engineering centre with the end of aircraft manufacturing operations there.

While the Indian government has made no official commitment to purchasing more C-17s, the U.S. government hopes that the recent Yemen rescue operations could spur interest in using this final opportunity to get some of the last airframes available in the world market. Budgetary issues and other procurement priorities may nix any interest, though it is well known that the IAF has been informally keen for a while now to top up its Skylords squadron.

Boeing recently said in a statement, "As Australia, India and customers around the world have experienced first-hand, the C-17 remains unmatched in its ability to transport troops and heavy cargo, support airdrops and aeromedical evacuations, and land and takeoff in remote airfields. Recently, the Indian Air Force's C-17s have been extensively utilized for Human Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) operations by bringing home over almost 2000 Indians evacuated from Yemen and clocking over 150 hours."