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AN-32 over Taj Mahal
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The Antonov AN-32 “Cline” builds on the general design of the widely-used AN-26 light transport plane, but high placement of the engine nacelles above the wing allow bigger propellers, driven by 5,100 hp AI-20 turboprops that almost double the output of the AN-26’s engines. As a result, the AN-32’s 14,750 pound/ 6900 kg load capacity is almost 50% better than its AN-26 cousin’s, and it can take off with much better load fractions in hot and/or high-altitude conditions, whose thin air could be a problem for other aircraft. AN-32s serve with a number of countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, and the type was recently purchased by Afghanistan.

India was the plane’s launch customer in the 1980s, and about 80 aircraft are used by the IAF’s Parachute Training School, for military and humanitarian personnel and supply airdrops, and as an important link in the transport chain to the disputed Siachen glacier area in northern Jammu and Kashmir. That length of service has taken a toll…

AN-32 at Thiose, India
(click, and note mountains)

As an IAF official put it to the Press Trust of India:

“The avionics of the aircraft were up-to-date when it was inducted during the 1980s, but is quite crude compared with today’s requirements…. With the upgrades on-board, we will have better flight management system, glass cockpit display, landing system and other equipment to improve accuracy and lend a multi-role operational edge to the aircraft.”

The aircraft’s airframe will also undergo some changes to improve its landing capabilities, and to extend its service life for another 15-20 years.

No deal has been signed, even though the process began with a Parliamentary Committee suggestion in 2000-01. The intent to upgrade the AN-32 fleet was restated in 2006, and India has now performed pre-upgrade surveys of its fleet. Anotnov and Israel’s Elbit Systems are said to be the likely contractors.

The AN-32 upgrade appears to have survived India’s contract to purchase 6-12 C-130J Hercules aircraft configured for special forces operations, and may even be complementary to it. On Oct 14/08, Zee News quoted Agra Air Station’s Air Officer Commanding Air Commodore Shouvik Roy:

“With special operations being the focus of the Air Force in the days to come, the upgraded aircraft will be used increasingly for operations involving tactical transport. The improved on-board avionics will facilitate night operations and even search and rescue.”