India Eyes the Last Globemaster Slice

The Indian Air Force is seeking to purchase Boeing’s last unspoken for C-17 Globemaster III after Qatar sealed a deal to snap-up four of the remaining five aircraft back in June, India’s Economic Times reported. India ordered a total of 10 C-17s back in 2011, and has used the aircraft heavily enough, especially in humanitarian relief operations, that the IAF would ideally like up to three additional airframes, according to the report. Since Boeing is shuttering its assembly line at Long Beach, Calif., any additional airframes for the IAF would depend on current customers, such as Australia or Qatar, canceling or curtailing their order, or a current operator selling aircraft second-hand. India initially envisioned acquiring a fleet of up to 18 Globemasters in tandem with its newly built Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules. The Qatar deal, announced at the Paris Air Show back in June, doubles the country’s C-17 fleet to eight aircraft. The Royal Australian Air Force plans to receive its eighth and final C-17 later this year, according to an Australian Department of Defense release.