Boeing, the US defence major has informed that India has been planning to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster heavy lift aircrafts. Concerning in this matter, the US government has received a 'letter of Request' from India.

The Indian Air Force has intended to procure the with a payload of around 75 to 80 tonnes, which is the only aircraft of this category which stand comparable with the Air Force's fleet of Russian IL-76 and An-32 transport aircraft.

The C-17 is capable of carrying 200 fully geared troops and can be used for carrying armoured vehicles, artillery guns and medium- sized helicopters from place to place. Moreover, the plane requires only 3000 feet runway for take-off and a very small crew to operate.

The C-17 deal is expected to be worth over USD 2-5 billion and would be carried through Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route under which inter-governmental deal is signed for arms sales.

It is not the first time India has placed orders for this category of the aircrafts, but in the last few years it has made deals worth USD 3.2 billion in order to procure eight P-81 maritime reconnaissance aircrafts and six C-130J Super Hercules transport aircrafts.