NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) soon will place a follow-on order for six C-130J medium-lift transport aircraft, says Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne. “Talks with the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin for the new batch of aircraft are on, and the order is expected to be placed by January 2012,” Browne says. In January 2008, the IAF signed a deal for six C-130Js for about $1.1 billion. Deliveries started in December 2010; five have arrived so far.

A Beechcraft 1900D aircraft operated by Nepal’s Buddha Air crashed in the Kathmandu Valley on Sept. 25, killing all 19 people on board. Flight BHA-103 lost contact with the Tribhuvan International Airport tower in the capital of Kathmandu at 7:31 a.m. local time, soon after it had made a flight around Mount Everest. It crashed 4 min. later about 15 km (9.5 mi.) south of the airfield, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). The twin turboprop plane was broken into pieces, and the rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather.

INDIAN MRO: Pipavav Defense and Offshore Ltd., India’s largest shipbuilder by market value, has signed an agreement with Airbus SAS and SKIL Infrastructure to develop aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for both civilian and military applications in India. “The first phase [of] MRO facilities and associated infrastructure are likely to cost $100 million,” a Pipavav Defense official says. Initially, Airbus parent company EADS will have a 26% stake in the project and may raise it to 49%. Pipavav Defense will hold 51%, the official says.