Almost half of the IAF's AN-32 transport aircraft fleet has still not been upgraded to desired standards as part of a 2009 contract with Ukraine, India's Ministry of Defence admitted in Parliament on July 1.

"Out of 105 AN-32 aircraft planned for upgradation, 55 aircraft have been upgraded - 40 aircraft at Kiev, Ukraine and 15 aircraft at 1 BRD, Kanpur. Upgradation of the remaining aircraft is planned in a phased manner depending upon the supply of mod kits by Ukraine," Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik stated in a written reply in Rajya Sabha to a question by Prof MV Rajeev Gowda of the Opposition Congress party.

"Out of 105 AN-32 aircraft planned for upgradation, 55 aircraft have been upgraded - 40 aircraft at Kiev, Ukraine and 15 aircraft at 1 BRD, Kanpur. Upgradation of the remaining aircraft is planned in a phased manner depending upon the supply of mod kits by Ukraine," Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik stated in a written reply in Rajya Sabha

The delay in the upgrade of the AN-32 fleet - the mainstay of the IAF's airlift operations - came into sharp focus following the crash of one of these aircraft close to the Chinese boundary on June 3. All 13 personnel on board were killed. The aircraft was on a routine maintenance sortie from the Jorhat airbase in Assam to a forward landing strip at Machuka in Arunchal Pradesh. The aircraft which crashed was not an upgraded one.

Minister Naik's statement is an acknowledgement that the completion of the upgrade programme is uncertain, contingent upon the supply of modernisation kits by Ukraine.

India started acquiring the AN-32 from the erstwhile Soviet Union in the 1980s following a deal between the regimes headed by Indira Gandhi and Leonid Brezhnev for the purchase of 123 of these transport aircraft for the IAF. The Soviet Union had spread its Military Industrial Complex across its constituent regions. The Antonov facility for manufacturing the AN-32 was, thus, based in Ukraine.

Minister Naik's statement is an acknowledgement that the completion of the upgrade programme is uncertain, contingent upon the supply of modernisation kits by Ukraine.

Towards the end of the scheduled life of these aircraft, India in 2009 signed a $397.7 Million contract with Ukraine for the upgrade of 105 AN-32 transport aircraft of the IAF. The upgrade package involved new radars, avionics and strengthening of airframes aimed at extending the life of the IAF AN-32s to 50 years. Under the contract, 45 aircraft were to be upgraded at Kiev, Ukraine, and 60 in India. The upgrade programme was to have been completed by 2014.

But the breakdown in relations between Ukraine and Russia with the eruption of the Crimean crisis brought the programme to a grinding halt. Some of the parts required for the upgrade were to be supplied by Russian entities to the Ukrainian contractor, and this process was brought to a standstill.

Minister of State for Defence Naik emphasised in his reply in the Rajya Sabha on July 1 that "the contract for upgradation of AN-32 aircraft with Ukraine has not been terminated", while informing Parliament that 15 AN-32s had already been upgraded at the IAF's 1 Base Repair Depot at Kanpur.

India in 2009 signed a $397.7 Million contract with Ukraine for the upgrade of 105 AN-32 transport aircraft of the IAF. The upgrade package involved new radars, avionics and strengthening of airframes aimed at extending the life of the IAF AN-32s to 50 years. Under the contract, 45 aircraft were to be upgraded at Kiev, Ukraine, and 60 in India. The upgrade programme was to have been completed by 2014.

Naik also stressed that those aircraft which have not been upgraded are "fully airworthy". "Equipment fitted on AN-32 aircraft are functional and serviceable on all aircraft that are flying. All transport aircraft in IAF cleared for flying are fully airworthy," he stated.

SP's has learnt that a Ukranian delegation, including senior executives from its military exports agency SpetsTechnoExport (STE), visited New Delhi in the aftermath of the crash of the AN-32 in June to re-assure the IAF about completion of the upgrade programme. This delegation also visited Indian facilities involved in the upgrade programme.

The Ukranians reportedly assured the IAF that modernisation kits for the remaining aircraft would be delivered by September 2020.

Shortage of spares and an impasse in the modernisation programme has been a big worry for the IAF particularly at a time when the older aircraft in its AN-32 fleet are nearing the end of their stipulated airframe lives.