The MTA (Medium Transport Aircraft) competition of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is eagerly awaited by Airbus, Embraer and Lockheed Martin, who are competing for an order that could reach 80 aircraft.
There is still no known time for the announcement of the winner, but the C-390 Millennium would be the favorite over the C-130J and A400M turboprops, according to IAF officials who told IDRW.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources revealed that the Brazilian tactical transport jet offers greater potential for use in other roles such as Airborne Early Warning (AEW), maritime patrol (MPA), aerial refueling and as an ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) platform.
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To fulfill this variety of missions, Embraer has proposed the C-390M, in addition to including the development and assembly of the aircraft in India in partnership with Mahindra.
In addition, the C-390 would be more competitively priced than the Super Hercules and the Airbus A400M, the latter being a larger aircraft.
The MTA competition is in the Request for Information (RFI) phase and will still have to go through a stage of evaluation of the competitors before a final decision is made.
Lockheed Martin recently suggested that it will open a second assembly line for the C-130J in partnership with Tata in India if it wins the competition. The partner is a supplier of components for the aircraft.
Airbus has not officially commented on its plans, but it has a contract to supply the C-295 to the IAF, with part of the order being assembled on Indian soil, also in partnership with the Tata Group.
