The Defence Ministry issued a tender worth approximately ₹1 lakh crore on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) for the procurement of 60 multi-role transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force, as reported by Defence Ministry officials. This represents one of the largest defence deals in recent years and is expected to trigger intense competition among domestic defence majors. The project is seen as catalysing the development of a supplier ecosystem involving hundreds of SMEs across the country, while contributing to the broader goal of making India a global defence manufacturing hub.
The programme is envisaged as an Indian-led initiative, with Indian companies partnering with global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to manufacture the aircraft in the country, according to a senior Defence Ministry official. The deal is viewed as strategically crucial for strengthening the airlift and logistics capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces, which have been looking to modernise their transport fleet to meet evolving operational requirements along the country's borders and in the Indian Ocean Region. Industry experts expect the tender to provide a significant boost to the defence manufacturing and aerospace industry, potentially creating thousands of high-skilled jobs and fostering technology transfer in critical areas such as avionics, composite materials and aircraft systems integration.
Multiple Indian companies, including Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), and Mahindra Defence, have been given the tender document, with some companies already partnered with foreign OEMs to bid for the MTA programme. Mahindra Defence has inked a pact with Brazilian aerospace major Embraer to offer the C-390 Millennium, while TASL has tied up with U.S. firm Lockheed Martin to offer the C-130J Super Hercules, which is already operated by the IAF for special operations. The IAF currently operates 12 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, primarily for special operations and tactical airlift missions. The procurement of 60 multi-role transport aircraft will address a critical capability gap in the Indian Air Force's fleet, which currently relies on a mix of ageing Soviet-era An-32 transports and a limited number of modern C-130J Super Hercules aircraft acquired from the United States.
Under the proposed programme, around 20% of the aircraft are expected to be inducted in fly-away condition, while the remaining aircraft would be manufactured in India, as per Defence Ministry officials. The domestically produced aircraft are expected to have more than 60% indigenous content and would be built through joint ventures between Indian companies and the OEMs. The MTA are expected to provide the IAF with enhanced capability to rapidly move troops, equipment and other military assets over long distances, with the aircraft potentially being configured for aerial refuelling, providing the IAF with an additional tanker capability. The IAF currently operates 12 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, primarily for special operations and tactical airlift missions. HAL is in the race to collaborate as a prime manufacturing and integration lead for the domestic assembly phase, similar to the C-295 transporter programme involving Airbus and TASL, with around 70 aircraft planned for the IAF and the majority to be manufactured in India.
The MTA programme is part of the IAF's broader modernisation drive amid concerns over its ageing transport fleet and the need to augment airlift capabilities, according to Defence Ministry reports. The IAF is simultaneously looking to acquire more than 100 trainer aircraft to replace its ageing Hawk fleet and augment training capacity as the number of fighter squadrons is sought to be increased. The MTA will bridge the operational gap between smaller light airlifters — such as the C-295 — and heavy-lift platforms like the Boeing C-17 Globemaster, providing enhanced operational flexibility for rapid deployment of military assets. The proposed transport aircraft programme is also expected to deepen India's domestic aerospace manufacturing ecosystem by bringing global OEMs into production partnerships with Indian companies and increasing indigenous content in military airlift platforms.
