Lockheed Martin Pitches C-130J Aircraft as India Plans Major Military Transport Purchase

As India prepares to procure around 80 military transport aircraft, U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has entered the competition with its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The company stated that these aircraft are ideally suited to India’s operational requirements.

Lockheed Martin has proposed setting up a mega manufacturing hub in India if selected for the contract, with potential to export aircraft to other countries as well. This would mark the company’s first such production facility outside the United States.

The C-130J aircraft are currently in service with 23 countries worldwide, and the Indian Air Force already operates 12 of them. Lockheed Martin executive Robert Tath noted that Quad partners Australia and Japan are also inducting advanced C-130J aircraft, adding that expanding this fleet would give India a strategic advantage.

The competition for the contract also includes Brazil’s Embraer KC-390 Millennium and Airbus’s A-400M aircraft.