India and Russia Move Ahead with New Airlifter
AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE » JUNE 1, 2012 by NEELAM MATHEWS The Indo-Russian Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) will be a high-wing, twin-turboprop design. (Photo: HAL) June 1, 2012, 2:20 PM India’s Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has signed a contract with Russia’s United Aircraft Corp Transport Aircraft (UAC-TA) to co-develop the 15- to 20-metric-ton-payload multirole transport aircraft (MTA). The pair formed a joint venture, Multirole Transport Aircraft Ltd, in 2010, following an inter-governmental agreement three years earlier. The MTA is likely to be derived from the Il-214 twin-turbofan design by the Ilyushin Design Bureau. It will have a maximum takeoff weight of 65 metric tons; payload capacity of 15 to 20 metric tons; cruise speed of 430 knots; a range of up to 1,460 nm and a service ceiling of 39,400 feet (12,000 m). “The investment for the program is $771 million,” junior defense minister M.M. Pallam Raju told the Indian parliament recently. India require...