The American F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter has been eliminated from the competition for technical reasons, and the French Rafale M would be chosen to equip the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers.
According to several Indian and French media, the Indian Navy would have favored the French offer of the Dassault Rafale M, over the American Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, to provide 26 new carrier-borne fighters to operate on board the new aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) ‘Vikrant’ designed by #IndianNavy's Directorate of Naval Design being built at #CochinShipyardLimited, a PSU under @shipmin_india.
A shining example of #AtmaNirbharBharat mission with more than 76% indigenous content (1/n)https://t.co/tVEgOOnOkw pic.twitter.com/yci0cgiHAk— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) August 4, 2021
A formal announcement of the Rafale victory is expected during Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India, scheduled for next March. According to La Tribune, following this announcement, a contract could be signed fairly quickly. Especially since in 2023, India and France will also celebrate the 25th anniversary of their strategic partnership.
The selection of the Rafale M would have the advantage that the Indian Air Force (IAF) already operates 36 of these French fighters, between single-seat C and two-seat B models, which would generate a lower logistical impact, than if the American fighter had been chosen.
Both models were tested by the Indian Navy during 2022, especially their ability to perform takeoffs, with combat payload, from aircraft carriers equipped with Ski Jump type inclined ramps, as these aircraft were originally designed to take off by catapults. In December, the Navy submitted to the Indian Ministry of Defense a detailed report of the tests conducted at the INS Hansa naval air base, along with its recommendation.
Interestingly, in May 2022 a rumor had surfaced that actually was the Rafale M that presented technical drawbacks to operate on Indian aircraft carriers since, by not being able to fold its wings, it would not only take up more room in the ship’s hangar than a Super Hornet, but would also force the removal of the missile launcher rails from the wingtips to fit into the INS Vikrant’s elevators, which are narrower than those of French or American aircraft carriers. Quite an inconvenience.
The technical reasons for the Super Hornet’s failure to become the first U.S.-origin fighter to be fielded by the Indian Armed Forces, which otherwise successfully operates AH-64E Apache and CH-47 Chinock helicopters as well as the P-8I Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, all Boeing products, have not yet been disclosed.
If the purchase is confirmed in March, the Rafale M would be destined for the locally designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and could then have the possibility of winning a second order to replace the MiG-29Ks operating from INS Vikramaditya (provided the domestic TEDBF design fails), as the Indian Navy is dissatisfied with their poor operability.
