The An-32 has been the workhorse of Indian Air Force tactical airlift since its induction from 1984, valued for the hot-and-high performance that Indian conditions demand, but the fleet is now decades old and a replacement has been discussed since the mid-2000s. One earlier attempt was the joint Multi-Role Transport Aircraft project with Russia, built around a new aircraft in the Il-214 class; that programme was terminated in 2017 after the two sides failed to agree on terms. In the meantime India has filled parts of the airlift spectrum through direct purchases: the C-130J Super Hercules for special operations and tactical lift, and 11 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for strategic heavy lift. The one segment restructured along the lines now proposed is the light end — under the 2021 C-295 contract for 56 aircraft, 16 are supplied in fly-away condition from Spain while 40 are being built by Tata Advanced Systems at Vadodara, where the final assembly line, India's first private-sector military aircraft assembly line, was inaugurated on 28 October 2024. The current tender applies that template one class higher and at a far larger scale.