If the Indian Air Force(IAF) has its way, the country could soon see a private player for the first time in military aviation. A $3-billion proposal to buy 56 transport aircraft to replace its fleet of aging Hawker Siddeley 748M Avro aircraft has already got a clearance from the ministry of defence.

A request for proposal (RfP) for the 56 Avros will be issued by end of this month, IAF chief Marshal NAK Browne said on the eve of Aero India 2013 on Tuesday.

FE had first reported the plan to phase out the 56 Avros. IAF has given a proposal to the defence ministry that they should exploit private industry in finding a replacement for these aircraft.

According to market estimates, the entire Avro replacement programme would be in the range of about $3 billion (approx R13,500 crore) with the IAF’s requirement of about 60 planes. While several private firms have shown interest, there have also been some foreign proposals, especially from Ukrainian firm Antonov.

The MoD’s acquisition council gave the go-ahead to issue a global tender to procure the aircraft, of which the first 16 will be bought off the shelf likely from a foreign manufacturer. The remaining planes will have to be built in India through a partnership deal with indigenous aviation manufacturers.

The next 16 aircraft will have to have 30 % indigenous components, while the remaining 24 planes will have 60% locally procured and produced items.

Interestingly, state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics may not be in a position to participate in this programme as it is busy with projects, such as the SU-30MKI production and upgrades of IAF’s aircraft fleet, including Mirage, MiG 29 and Jaguar aircraft.

However, two aircraft manufacturers — Airbus Military with its C295 and Alenia Aermacchi with the C-27J — are expected to be the front-runners for the contract.

Whichever foreign company wins, it will most likely work with a private Indian company. The partnership element of the deal would help create India’s first airframe manufacturer.

The Hawker Siddeley 748M Avro aircraft was built by the company’s subsidiary Avro and first flew in 1960. It was designed as an airliner but adopted for military transport with a view to replace aircraft operators’ aging DC-3 Dakotas.