A senior Indian air force delegation travelled to Tashkent, Uzbekistan this month to procure a fifth Ilyushin Il-78 aerial refuelling tanker. The multirole Il-78 MKI tanker/transports are being manufactured at Tashkent Aircraft Production (TAPC) under an air force contract signed two years ago.
India's Mid-Air Refuelling Squadron (MARS) plans to buy six aerial tankers by October for in-flight refuelling of various aircraft, such as the Dassault Mirage 2000 and Sukhoi Su-30.
The Il-78 can fuel three fighters simultaneously and has a capacity of 110t, enabling it to refuel about seven aircraft per mission. Each Il-78 costs about $28 million.
While TAPC is providing the airframe and electrical systems, the hose-and-drogue refuelling pods, powered by a ram-air-turbine, are being acquired from Israel.
Source: Flight International
