After losing the $10.4-billion deal for 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), Boeing has received the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) clearance for a $4-billion-plus deal for the purchase of 10 strategic heavy-lift C-17 aircraft.
The aircraft will be used to augment the Indian Air Force (IAF) capability to swiftly move troops and equipment over long distances.
The deal has come close on the heels of the rejection of the American F-16 and and F-18 fighter jets in the biggest defence purchase India has ever considered. The two were rejected in favour of the European consortium’s Eurofighter as well as the French Dassault’s Rafale fighter.
The CCS on security, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday, gave its nod for the deal. ?The CCS has today approved the C-17 deal at an approximate cost of $4.1 billion,? a senior defence ministry official said.
The US Congress had approved the sale of the fully loaded aircraft for $5.8 billion under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) government-to-government route in June last year. Interestingly, since India is yet to ink a key military pact with the US, the aircraft might come without some critical communications equipment.
India is yet to sign the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMoA), a pact mandated by the US law for the transfer of hi-tech military equipment to friendly countries.