NEW DELHI — India will induct its heaviest aircraft, the Boeing C-17, into military service next month, giving a major boost to the country’s airlift. The aircraft wil enter service with the Indian air force (IAF) on Sept. 12 at Hindon air base near New Delhi, a senior defense ministry official says. India signed a $4.1 billion foreign military sales contract with Boeing in 2011 to acquire 10 aircraft, making the country the largest C-17 export customer. The contract was finalized last June.

NEW DELHI — Boeing has delivered a third Boeing C-17 airlifter to the Indian air force (IAF). The military transport aircraft departed for India Aug. 20 from the company’s Long Beach, Calif., facility. The first and second Indian C-17s were delivered in June and July. “Boeing is on track to deliver two more C-17s to the IAF this year and five in 2014,” the company says. India signed a $4.1 billion contract with the U.S. in 2011 to acquire the aircraft.

NEW DELHI — After scrubbing the launch of its Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) Aug. 19 due to a fuel leak in the rocket’s second stage, India may consider destacking the rocket and swapping for a backup engine. “We have the standby for the second-stage engine. It is similar to the one used for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle [PSLV],” a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) says. But “first we have to see what went wrong with the [GSLV] launch,” he says.