Lockheed awaits next phase of India’s MTA contest with C-130J offer¶
Airframer sees no end in sight for production of venerable airlifter.
Lockheed Martin is eyeing an addressable market of “upwards of 500 airplanes” in the class of its C-130J, as executives see no end in sight for production of the veteran airlifter.
“We have a strong demand in the market going forward,” says Trish Pagan, vice-president air mobility & maritime missions (AMMM) and general manager of Lockheed’s Marietta, Georgia site. She sees opportunities for the tactical transport as existing via “large [potential] orders like India, and also other smaller orders around the world”.
“Many of those are current C-130 operators,” notes Rob Toth, vice-president, business development, adds.
New Delhi is advancing its Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) competition, which will deliver an initial 60 airlifters for the Indian air force.
“We believe the RFP [request for proposals] will be released imminently, potentially at the end of this month or early August,” Toth told FlightGlobal at the Farnborough air show on 21 July.
“That would put a proposal due some time in the first quarter of next year, and then flight evaluation trials, and probably a selection near the end of 2027 or early 2028.”
The contest is progressing on schedule, with “The need for India to replace their [Antonov] An-32s and [Ilyushin] Il-76s pretty much at the top of their list.”
According to India’s programme outline, the selected bidder will be required to deliver 12 aircraft in “flyaway status”, with the other 48 to undergo final assembly in India. Lockheed is partnered with Tata Advanced Systems for the C-130J bid.
The Indian air force is an existing Hercules operator, with 12 J-model examples in service. Toth says that fleet has accumulated 53,000 flight hours to date, with a mission capability rate of above 85%.
“One of the things that the Indian opportunity brings is it’s not just the ‘Make in India’ piece, but it also is valuable to the US from the perspective of extending the line in Marietta,” Pagan says. “I think it’s a win-win situation.”
Lockheed faces competition from the Airbus Defence & Space A400M and Embraer’s C-390 for the lucrative requirement.
While India may be the highest-profile current opportunity for new sales, Toth points to the Hercules’ key position in the inventories of many nations.
“The C-130 remains the standard for NATO for tactical airlift,” he notes: 13 alliance members fly the four-engined type, representing a combined fleet size of 700 examples across its legacy and J models.
On top of various US commitments, Mexico late last year signed for a first C-130J, and “they have a longer-term plan to acquire more airplanes”, he says. More broadly, he notes: “The global outlook is good – there are a few [opportunities] we’re tracking that are looking very promising. The great part about some of the ones that we are working on are [they are for] significant numbers.”
Indeed, such is the company’s optimism, Toth says: “We will be running this production line for decades. We really don’t see an end in sight, and opportunities also exist to continue to upgrade and modify existing airplanes for new capabilities. It’s kind of unlimited at this point.”Subscribe to gain access to all newsAlready have a subscription?Log in.Choose your subscriptionConsidering a corporate subscription?Contact usto find out more.
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- Tags:
- Defence
- Farnborough
- Fixed-wing
- C-130J
- Indian air force
- Lockheed Martin