The Indian air force is to buy an initial 10 Boeing heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to replace Russian IL-76 transporters, the defense minister said.

Defense Minister A.K. Antony confirmed to Parliament that a letter of request was issued to Washington for the $2.5 million acquisition.

"The proposal to procure C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from the U.S. government to meet the strategic airlift requirement of the Indian Air Force was approved by the Defense Acquisition Council on Oct. 19, 2009," he said, adding that the request was sent to the U.S. government Jan. 1

The decision comes ahead of the trip to Washington by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend a nuclear summit in April.

The Indian air force is looking to buy the Globemasters through the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales route, a report by the Bangalore Web site IndiaServer.com stated. Delivery should start around three years after a contract is signed, a defense official said.

A pilot can fly a Globemaster with a joystick despite the high-winged aircraft's size -- 174 feet long and 55 feet high with a 170-foot wingspan, IndiaServer.com said. This allows for faster reaction times when flying in dangerous areas, or rapid strategic airlift. Power is by four Pratt & Whitney F-117-PW-100 turbofan engines.

India bought IL-76 aircraft in the 1980s and operates fewer than 20of the aircraft. It has a 45-ton cargo capacity with a crew of six. The C-17 carries 70 tons and needs a crew of three, and one person can operate the heavy-lift hydraulics for cargo handling.

Indian defense officials have said in the past that their military needs the extra support offered by a plane such as the C-17 for quickly airlifting troops to and from the Pakistani border region as part of its fight against terrorism. Requirements include at short notice the ability to fly anything from tanks to troops onto short airfields with steep approaches.

The C-17 can take off from a 7,600-foot airfield, fly 2,400 nautical miles and refuel in flight. It can also land in 3,000 feet or less on an unpaved or paved airfield day or night.

The Indian air force also operates around 100 Russian A-32 aircraft for airlifting troops and for logistics operations. Last year India signed $400 million deal with Ukrainian military export agency Ukrspetsexport to upgrade the planes.

Six C-130J Hercules are also on order for the air force.

The order for the C-17s, should it get the go-ahead from the U.S. government, is yet another lifeline for the aircraft that at one time was in danger of being phased out of production by last year.

Its first flight was in 1991 and production began in 1993. But by 2006 Boeing said that without new orders from the U.S. military, it would cease production by 2009. New orders from the U.S. Air Force followed in 2007.

Closure would have affected 5,500 Boeing employees in California, Missouri, Georgia and Arizona who directly worked on the C-17 program. But the decision would have had immediate effect on 25,000 employees of nearly 700 supplier firms in 42 states, Boeing said at the time.