Starting on the 06th of this month, the Indian Navy will conduct a series of tests with the Dassault Rafale M naval fighter on a ramp. The purpose of the tests is to assess whether the French jet will be able to operate aboard India's new aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant (IAC-1), which should enter service in August.
For 12 days, the Flurry M will be tested on the ramp of Naval Air Station Hansa (INS Hansa), points out the Hindustan Times. The 283 meter long structure simulates the ramp found on the vessel's deck, used to launch aircraft.
The method, called STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery), has been used in India and other countries for decades. However, the Rafale M, used on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle of the French Navy, operates with the CATOBAR system (Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery), where the aircraft takes off with the aid of a catapult.
The same happens with the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet. In December 2020, the Super Hornet received certification to operate with the ramp after undergoing evaluations at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in the USA.
Still, the model will also be evaluated by the Indian Navy. According to the portal, the American aircraft should be tested in March as an alternative to the Rafale M. The two fighters have already demonstrated interoperability, with the French jet operating from aircraft carriers of the US Navy.
Our F / A-18 #SuperHornet demonstrates the ability to operate from @indiannavy aircraft carriers during its successful and safe launch from a ski-jump ramp. pic.twitter.com/92V14EXV9M
- Boeing India (@Boeing_In) December 21, 2020
Problems with the MiG-29
Currently, the Indian Navy has 45 Mikoyan MiG-29K/KUB Fulcrum-D fighters. Headquartered at the same base where the tests will be carried out, the Russian-made jets operate on the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier, a former Soviet Kiev-class ship that was modified and modernized by India.
However, the Russian model has presented a series of problems, which has generated criticism from the Indian Government. In the space of a year, three fighters were lost in accidents, one of them fatal. Three years before the accidents, the Controller and Auditor General of India (CAG) already pointed out problems with the engines and fly-by-wire of the MiG-29K.
The CAG audit noted that a total of 65 engines (42 with 21 aircraft and 23 spares) were purchased. But since its introduction in February 2010, 40 engines (representing 62 percent of 65 engines) have been withdrawn from service, rejected due to design-related defects/deficiencies.
Therefore, in 2017, India announced that it should replace the MiG-29K with 57 new aircraft. The dispute is now between the Rafale M and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
The new aircraft will operate alongside the HAL TEDBF (Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter), a 5th Generation naval fighter under development. According to the Aeronautical Development Agency, the first test flight of the twin-engined fighter is expected before 2026 and the introduction in the Indian Navy before 2031.
O Hindustan Times also says that as INS Vikrant is due to be commissioned as INS Vikrant on 15th August 2022, the 75th year of India's independence, there is a strong possibility that the Navy will apply for lease four to five Rafale M in 2022 for the carrier -aircraft is operational. India already has a Rafale maintenance flight training facility at Ambala air base. Naval aviators will be trained at INS Hansa.
