Lockheed Martin has entered a teaming agreement with Tata Advanced Systems – a subsidiary of Tata Group, and one of India’s prominent defence providers – to set up additional infrastructure supporting the nation’s C-130J Super Hercules Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) fleet.
Together, the two companies will pursue two objectives:
First, to build a C-130J Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub in India. Secondly, the team will expand existing capacity in India to manufacture and assemble more C-130J units for the Indian Air Force (IAF), pending US and Indian government approval.
The IAF has floated a tender for acquisition of 40-80 MTAs with a capacity of about 18-30 tonnes. A request for information was issued by the service in December 2022, according to GlobalData intelligence.
Currently, the service operates 12 Lockheed Martin C-130J aircraft acquired between 2010-11. This latest industrial cooperation will fill an enduring gap for MTAs; especially given India requires more capacity as one of the largest armed forces in the world with 1.4 million personnel.
C-130J or the A400M
“The C-130J is known as the world’s workhorse,” suggested Rod Mclean, Air Mobility and Maritime Missions official at Lockheed, “not just for its large global presence, but also for its international supply chain partners.”
India is already familiar with the enduring MTA model over the last decade. Moreover, should the government select the aircraft for its MTA programme, the IAF will benefit from a deep-rooted global supply chain with India ascending as a leading manufacturing hub for the platform (if the latest industrial plan comes into fruition).
Although many European nations are converting their legacy C-130 fleets to a new challenger, the Airbus A400M Atlas – such as France, Germany, Spain and the UK among other global users – India would share a regional supply chain with the Middle East and North Africa if it continues to opt for Super Hercules. Egypt has just committed to the acquisition of two Super Hercules, and has an option for ten more with the approval of the US State Department.
However, the IAF is also in the process of replacing their fleet of Hawker Siddley HS-748 transport aircraft with 56 modern Airbus C-295M light transport aircraft, and the Indian government may want to complement this with the medium-lift A400M.
INDUS-X collaboration
In an era of multipolarity, the Indian government has opened up to defence cooperation from Russia and the US alike. Though, relations between India and the US were formerly constrained during the Cold War, the INDUS-X defence collaboration initiative has set ties on a more positive note over the past year.
The US Department of Defense and Indian Ministry of Defence participated in the third India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) Summit in Silicon Valley, California on 9 September.
India’s decision to select the C-130J may go further in strengthening bilateral defence ties, and the existing infrastructure may benefit India in the long-run.
