O French Dassault Rafale M defeated the North American Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet in the dispute to become the new fighter of the Indian Navy. The model will be used aboard INS Vikrant, India's newest aircraft carrier, sources confirm.
Speaking on anonymity, military personnel familiar with the program confirmed to the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times that the French jet was chosen as a favorite in the Multi-Role Carrier-Borne Fighter (MRCBF) program.
The Indian Navy, which wants to acquire 26 fighter jets, has sent an assessment report to the Defense Ministry, which is expected to make the final decision on the program, one of the officials said. According to the document, compared to the F/A-18, the Rafale M is better able to meet the Navy's requirements and operational criteria.
According to the military, the use of the Rafale by the Indian Air Force favors the naval version of the French jet due to the commonality of spare parts and maintenance.
“The maritime version of the Rafale will have more than 85% commonality with the IAF's Rafales. This means that there will be enormous advantages in the logistical management of spare parts and standardization of maintenance. In the long run, an Indian company might even redesign both variants,” said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general of the Center for Airpower Studies.
also emphasized that the Rafale M has commonalities with the IAF's 36 Rafale fighters, thus offering advantages related to training, maintenance and logistical .
The MRCBF is looking for an interim fighter to operate aboard the Vikrant while India develops its own 5th generation naval fighter, the TEDBF (deck-based twin-engine fighter), whose prototype should be ready in 2026. Production is only scheduled for 2032.
The Rafale and the Super Hornet were evaluated at the Navy's facilities in Goa, between January and June of this year. The aircraft underwent tests on the ramp that simulates the same one found on Indian aircraft carriers, unlike the catapults found on French and American ships.
INS Vikrant, which was commissioned in September, will be ready for combat in mid-2023, when defense systems tests and evaluations of the MiG-29K/KUB Fulcrum-D fighters will be ready. Currently, the Indian Navy operates around 39 MiG-29 fighters, but the maintenance of the Russian model has already caused a series of problems for years.
“We will make a call about whatever is of interest to us”, Indian Navy Commander iral R Hari Kumar said last week. THE Vikrant will have an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft, including the new Rafale M, Kamov Ka-31 helicopters, MH-60R Seahawk multirole helicopters and advanced light helicopters.
