Posted on 08/28/2017 5:22:38 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Global defence equipment major Boeing on Monday said that its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft is compatible with India's current naval carrier platforms and that they can be produced in the country under the government's "Make in India" initiative.
"Analytical and (computer) simulations have shown that the F/A-18 is compatible with the current carrier fleet of the Indian Navy. The results of the test have been submitted in response to a global RFI issued by the Navy," said Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing India.
Presently, the Indian Navy's aircraft carriers' utilise "ski-jump ramps" for fighter aircraft to take-off.
Kumar spoke to IANS on the sidelines of a briefing over F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft which was held here. Boeing has filed its response to a global RFI (request for information) floated by the Indian Navy earlier this year.
Boeing is considered to be one of the major contenders for the supply of 57 carrier-borne fighter aircraft required by the Indian Navy. Company executives told IANS that the F/A-18 Super Hornet was designed for carrier operations and is "the world's pre-eminent carrier capable aircraft" with a defined US Navy flight plan to outpace threats into the 2040s.
The Indian Navy initiated the bid and issued a "RFI for Procurement of Multi-Role Carrier Borne Fighter for The Indian Navy" on January 31, 2017.
According to Kumar, apart from the advanced technologies, the aircraft comes with an overall life cycle cost which is more reasonable than other contenders in the bid.
"The overall life cycle cost is far lower than others," Kumar said. "The Super Hornet has the lowest cost per flight hour which is even lower than Lockheed Martin's F-16."
Dan Gillian, Vice President of F/A-18 and EA Programmes, Boeing, observed that a platform like the "Super Hornet" under the "Make in India" programme will help the Indian industry to position itself for the manufacture of "Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft" (AMCA).
"Boeing can provide the capability needed for the Indian Navy to build its next generation carrier air wing. It can also provide the industrial base right here behind that capability," Gillian said.
"When we look across the globe at quality, capability and cost - India is an obvious partner. We have been building F/A-18 aerostructures and assemblies in India because it makes good business sense to do so."
"The Super Hornet represents 21st century capability for the Indian defence forces, and industrial capability where we have evaluated 400 suppliers for the fighter campaign and have done a deep assessment on the capability of over 160 Indian suppliers," Kumar said. "We have quadrupled our sourcing from India and currently source $1 billion from India."
Gillian mentioned that the Super Hornet is ahead of its competitors because of its affordability, survivability, built-in stealth, smarter weapons and being combat proven.
Currently, the Indian Navy has two aircraft carriers -- INS Vikramaditya and INS Viraat -- which are based in the Indian Ocean Region. It operates the Russian built MIG 29-K fighter aircraft from these platforms.
--IANS
rv/bg
I thought they were too big for the elevators, though....??
Amusing that the Chinese and Indians think that you can build carriers, obtain planes and suddenly you have effective warships. What they lack and cannot get is ninety years of naval warfare experience off platforms at sea much of it in combat. Its that accumulated experience, skilled and experienced crews that makes those ships functional.
anddddddd, exactly how are they to get experience?
It’s about 9 ft. shorter and 4 feet narrower than an Su-33, so it should fit.
That’s true. They however will not need 90 years to catch up. The big question is how effective/efficient that learning will be.
If the launching aircraft are going to settle 15m how close is that to the sea surface? What happens in unfavorable wind conditions? (eg. gusty/variable) What about rough sea states where the swells are coming up to meet you and the bow is pitching down? Seems like there may not be much margin for error here.
“Good judgement comes from experience; and a lot of that experience comes from bad judgement.” Will Rogers.
Great! Another outsourcing opportunity!!! /sarc
Yes, a lot of good men will pay the price in blood for their successors’ successes.
We could definitely have worse allies.
oh wait, we do...
If the U.S. is serious about helping India gain carrier expertise, we would invite the Indian naval attache, stationed in D.C. to observe carrier ops for a while, and bring a group of his naval aviators along to absorb as much as possible. There is a big difference between reading about, observing it, and doing it yourself. We could help with the second step and then invite them to participate in the third step aboard one of our ships.
India has been involved in carrier aviation for over 50 years. They don't need U.S. help in gaining expertise.
Yet another example of our critical military components coming from somewhere other than the US. Congress critters love to brag about how defense contracts provide good jobs for Americans but never mention the fact that critical components are made wherever the manufacturer can benefit the most from labor arbitrage.
We can't even produce our aircraft without relying on one or more of the people DoD tells us is an enemy to one degree or another. Shutting down all US based production of small arms ammunition will be the next step so the gun grabbers can regulate and tax as imports the ammo anyone except the government buys.
But hey, the labor is cheaper there so the "invisible hand" fisting you whether you like it or not is a good thing.
JMHo
Do you want to store the planes away, or fly them?
Umm, both.
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