As the Indian Navy plans to purchase deck-based aircraft, Boeing, a US-based aircraft manufacturer, successfully demonstrated its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet at the Goa naval station.
Boeing, a key player in US aerospace, has announced that its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter plane successfully completed an operational demonstration at the Goa Naval Station on Wednesday. The Indian Navy is now looking to purchase deck-based fighter aircraft for the indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant, which will be put into service by the end of this month, and Boeing is hoping to secure an order for its deck-based warship from the naval force.
Two Super Hornet aircraft, according to Boeing, successfully completed the demonstration, which involved a number of ski leaps, roll-in and fly-in arrestments, and performance flights. The demo involved a range of weights and air-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-surface configurations.
Alain Garcia, vice president, of India business development at Boeing Defence, Space, and Security, said, “The Boeing team was fortunate to display the F/A-18 Super Hornet’s compatibility with Indian carriers in Goa.”
The F/A-18 Super Hornet, the world’s foremost frontline multi-role naval fighter, continues to advance with the development of the next-generation Block III capability, which will be game-changing for India, according to the top executive.
He continued by saying that with the Super Hornet Block III, the Indian Navy will not only receive the most cutting-edge platform but would also gain access to the US Navy’s tactics, upgrades, and expertise in the naval aviation ecosystem.
The French aerospace giant Dassault Aviation’s F/A-18E Super Hornet and the Rafale M are the two aircraft that the Navy has narrowed down for purchase.
The Indian Navy started the process to buy 57 multi-role combat aircraft for its aircraft carrier more than four years ago.
It has been learned that the number may originally be closer to 30.
Currently, the Indian Navy uses its lone aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, to operate MiG-29K fighters of Russian origin.
The Request For Information issued by the Navy for procurement of the deck-based fighter jets sought to know at what level of Transfer of Technology (ToT) the companies are willing to share with India.
