LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- India intends to purchase 10 C-17 Globemaster cargo planes, U.S. aerospace major Boeing announced on Friday.

    India wants the C-17 Globemaster cargo planes, each worth at least 200 million U.S. dollars, to replace their fleet of Russian aircraft, according to Boeing.

    India sent the request to the U.S. government for the acquisition of the 10 aircraft last year, Boeing spokesman Jerry Drelling said, adding that finalization of the agreements could take years.

    "It's been a good start to the year for the C-17 program," Drelling said. "We're very excited about this project."

    Final assembly of the C-17 takes place at Boeing's Long Beach plant near Los Angeles, which employs 5,000 workers. The aircraft takes about 10 and a half months to finish, Drelling said.

    The C-17 Globemaster III air lifter is often used to transport combat equipment and troops or to deliver humanitarian supplies. The C-17 has a payload of 77 tons and requires a runway of only 915 meters to take off.

    Boeing has delivered 193 C-17s to the U.S. Air Force and have also sold them to Britain, Canada, Australia, Qatar and a NATO-led consortium of 12 nations, according to Drelling.