The Indian military have signed a contract with Russia’s Ilyushin for the overhaul and partial upgrade of six Il-78MKI aerial refueling tankers. The maintenance will be performed in Russia, including the replacement of engines on all the aircraft and modernization of individual systems and components, which will significantly extend their service life. The total value of the contract is $80 mio.
The Il-78MKI is currently the only type of refueling tanker used by the Indian Air Force, which has been negotiating the purchase of Airbus A330 MRTT since 2006, but every time the plan was declined due to the excessive cost of the European aircraft.
Russia, on the other hand, is ready to offer India an export version of the Il-78M-90A tanker, which is being developed for the Russian Defense Ministry now; the deal can be made only after the aircraft is adopted by the Russian Aerospace Force. The $1.8 bln contract can help employ most of the facilities at Aviastar-SP; the plant’s capacity is 18 Il-76MD-90- based aircraft per year.