IAF to Acquire Indigenously Developed Medium Transport Aircraft as Potential Replacement of AN-32 Cargo Plane

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has commenced a process to acquire a Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA). The MTA will be manufactured in the country under the 'Make in India' initiative. According to reports, the MTA will be used for various roles as a transport aircraft and would have a cargo-carrying capacity of between 18 to 30 tonnes. On December 9, 2022, the IAF released a Request for Information (RFI) for the purchase of an MTA. The original deadline for bid submission was February 3 but the same has been extended until March 31. The RFI states that the overall time frame of production and delivery with a stage-by-stage breakdown of the full project will be required to be submitted after the conclusion of the contract. 

"Within 36 months of contract signing, platform deliveries are expected to start, according to the RFI."

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Earlier, several IAF officials have stated that the C-295MW aircraft which has a cargo-carrying capacity similar to that of the AN-32 would be taken into consideration as a potential replacement for the AN-32. The IAF has recently entered into a contract for getting 56  C-295MW aircraft.

However, the C-295 no longer qualifies since it falls inside the 5-10 tonnes group, while the RFI's weight-carrying capability range is 18 to 30 tonnes. Thus, the IAF is exploring options to replace the AN-32s with a more capable aircraft.

A previous effort to design and construct a 20-ton MTA with Russia to replace AN-32s was scrapped a few years back after initial design discussions.