India and Israel to convert passenger aircraft into strategic transporters, as part of Make in India

India's state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Israel Aerospace Industries(IAI) to convert passenger aircraft into Multi Mission Tanker Transport aircraft, in India.

Under this pact which is aimed at boosting the Make-in-India initiative, HAL will convert pre-owned passenger aircraft into aerial refuelling tankers with cargo and transport capabilities. This will provide India's defence ecosystem with new capabilities and cost-effective solutions.

Aerial refuelling tankers are crucial in extending the range of fighters and other aircraft, as the latter can carry on with their mission, without having to land and make a refuelling stop.

India's @HALHQBLR & Israel's @ILAerospaceIAI sign MoU to convert used @BoeingAirplanes 767 into Multi Mission Tanker transport, as part of Make-in-India
IAI has converted 250+ civil aircraft for strategic use

Air-air refueling tankers extend range of fighters,othr Ac
(IAI pic) pic.twitter.com/TG17MbgQu2 — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) April 6, 2022

A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed in Delhi by Mr D. Maiti, CEO (MiG Complex), HAL and Mr Yaacov Berkovitz, VP & GM Aviation Group, IAI in the presence of Mr Chandraker Bharati, JS (Aero), MoD.

“We are glad to join hands with our long-standing partner IAI in this venture of MMTT conversion business which is one of the strategic diversification avenues identified by HAL”, says Mr R. Madhavan, CMD, HAL.

Boaz Levy, President IAI and CEO in his message said, “We are proud to come together with our counterparts to bring our best value MMTT solution in India, while utilizing local resources to manufacture and market the platform. By collaborating with HAL and bringing conversion directly to India, we are supporting the ‘Make in India’ campaign”.

As per the IAI, their Boeing767 conversion process converts pre-owned B767 aircraft into aerial tankers for a variety of different military missions, all with Air-to-Air refuelling capabilities.

Customers are offered multiple, flexible solutions to choose from, adapting the aircraft for cargo, VIP, passengers or intelligence systems, as desired. Each aircraft configuration includes a special cargo door and built-in cargo pallet capabilities, as well as passenger seats and consoles that can be rapidly installed or removed.

In converting passenger aircraft to Special Freighters for special missions, IAI has converted over 250 aircraft to date, many with an unbeatable safety record and high utilization rates, they added.

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