The long-awaited signature of an agreement on the establishment of Russian-Indian joint venture to develop the Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) took place in India on 9 September 2010 with the MTA Ltd. JV was founded on 1 December 2010. The Russian participants in the venture are the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and Rosoboronexport government-owned corporation while their Indian counterpart is Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). The signatories have a fifty-fifty ownership of the stock, with the joint venture being headquartered in Bangalore.

The intergovernmental agreement on co-development and construction of the MTA was signed as far back as 2007. It makes provision for the production of 205 aircraft in Russia and India. The overall cost of the development is set at $600.7 million and will be shouldered by the parties equally.

According to an official Indian Ministry of Defence news release circulated due to the establishing of the joint venture, the MTA will have a lifting capacity of 15–20 t to meet the concurrent requirements of the Indian and Russian air forces. Its maximum takeoff weight will stand at 65 t, cruising speed will be 800 km/h, range will account for 2,500–2,700 km and service ceiling will equal 12,000 m. The MTA will be powered by two turbofan engines. An MTA prototype may complete its maiden flight in 2016.