NEW DELHI, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- India's first C-130J aircraft has run its engines for the first time in readiness for its maiden flight next month.
The Super Hercules plane, the first of six ordered from manufacturer Lockheed Martin, was wheeled out of the hangar in Marietta, Ga., in June after being painted in Indian air force colors.
India ordered the stretched-version C-130J planes in a $1 billion deal concluded in February 2008 at the DefExpo exhibition in New Delhi.
As part of the contract and to ensure 80 percent availability of the aircraft at any given time, Lockheed Martin will provide long-term maintenance to the Indian air force, as it has done for the U.S. Air Force and the air forces of Australia, Britain and Canada.
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Training of crews, ground support and testing services also are included by Lockheed Martin.
The first of the four-engine, six-blade, turbo-prop tactical transport planes is expected to arrive in India in February. It is designed to provide the air force with the ability to conduct precision low-level flying operations, airdrops and landings in blackout conditions. It is capable of landing on short rough or dirt unprepared landing strips.
Much of the on-board electronic equipment is Indian-designed and Indian-manufactured but contracts also have been signed with Western avionics firms, including FLIR Systems.
In August 2009 FLIR Systems received a $ 7.2 million U.S. government foreign military sale order to equip India's C-130J aircraft with its AAQ-22 Star Safire III electro-optical/infrared sensors. FLIR Systems will also give training and other related services along with its Star SAFIRE(R) III infrared multi-sensor surveillance systems.
FLIR said at the time that it was the first fixed-wing sale of its multi-sensor systems to the Indian Ministry of Defense. Work on the order is being done at FLIR's facility in Wilsonville, Ore., and deliveries are expected to be completed by 2011.
When India's intention was to seek a purchase of plane was announced in April 2006, Air Chief S. P. Tyagi, said the C-130J aircraft were to replace the air force's medium-lift AN-32 aircraft for use by the Special Forces units. Users also include the country's border police that deal with hostage takings and terrorist incidents.
The air force has 100 of the AN-32 transport aircraft, designed by Antanov and manufactured by Aviant in the latter years of the Soviet Union. The plane had its maiden flight in 1976 and the Indian air force recently did an emergency upgrade on its fleet, as well as to some heavier IL-76 aircraft, to extend their life by 10 to 20 years.
In March, the Indian air force confirmed it will buy an initial 10 Boeing heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to replace the IL-76 transporters. Defense Minister A.K. Antony confirmed to Parliament that a letter of request was issued to Washington for the acquisition.
The decision was made ahead of a trip to Washington by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend a nuclear summit last spring.
India bought IL-76 aircraft in the 1980s and operates fewer than 20 of the planes. It has a 45-ton cargo capacity with a crew of six. The C-17 carries 70 tons and needs a crew of three and one person can operate the heavy-lift hydraulics for cargo handling.
