Tel Aviv [Israel], December 2 (ANI): Israel’s leading defense manufacturer, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the only firm remaining in the ₹8,000-crore contract to supply six mid-air refuellers to India, has said it is fully aligned with the Indian government’s requirement of providing 30 percent ‘Make in India’ content for the project.
Yehuda Lahav, an Executive Vice President at IAI, declined to comment on where the aircraft would be prepared. Earlier, ANI reported that the Indian Air Force is likely to award the approximately ₹8,000-crore deal for six aerial tanker planes to the Israeli government-owned firm, which has emerged as the single vendor.
“It’s not specific to this project, but in any program where we consider ourselves as a candidate, we are willing to comply. Hopefully, India will be the next customer,” Lahav said.
“We are fully aligned with local requirements, which means we are open to meeting any local content obligations. There is a will to do it, and we will do it. Regarding the refueller, if there are specific requirements, we will be 100 percent aligned,” he added.
If IAI secures the contract, it would modify six old, second-hand Boeing 767 commercial aircraft into tanker planes before supplying them to the Indian Air Force, defense sources told ANI.
According to the report, IAI has emerged as the sole qualifying vendor in a competitive bid, agreeing to meet the requirement of approximately 30 percent Made in India content through offsets. The competition had initially seen participation from Russian and European firms, but IAI remained the only contender as others failed to meet key conditions, including the required indigenous content in second-hand aircraft.
The Indian Air Force currently operates six Russian-origin Il-78 mid-air refuelling aircraft based in Agra, which support operations across its fighter fleet and the Navy. Over the past 15 years, the Air Force has made several unsuccessful attempts to procure six additional refuellers due to various challenges.
The service has recently wet-leased a tanker aircraft but continues to require a larger fleet to meet expanding operational demands. As the Air Force phases out legacy platforms, its newer aircraft can operate for longer durations with mid-air refuelling support.
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