May 20, 2013: After an abortive attempt to make it an indigenously-led modernisation effort that could set an example for future procurements, the Indian MoD has finally released its request for proposal for 56 medium-lift transport aircraft that will replace the Indian Air Force's fleet of HS-748 Avro propeller transports.

The request for proposal (RFP) demands that 16 aircraft be supplied in flyaway condition by the selected global vendor, and the remaining 40 built in India under a partnership with an Indian company. The RFP stipulates that the modalities of this partnership need to be hammered out and set down in bids within the next five months. In transport aircraft terms, this could be one of India's largest, running into close to over Rs 25,000 crore.

As earlier reported by SP's, likely contenders for the deal include the EADS CASA C-295 or the Alenia C-27J Spartan. Other companies that have received the RFP include Ilyushin, Antonov, Lockheed-Martin and Boeing. The company conspicuous by its absence in this entire effort is, of course, Hindustan Aeronautics, which is building a multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) in partnership with UAC and Ilyushin.