Rajnath Singh also visited the nuclear-powered carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday visited an important facility of the US Navy in Norfolk, Virginia, which included a tour of an aircraft carrier.

Rajnath, along with Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar, is in the US to participate in the second '2+2' dialogue with the US secretaries of defence and state, beginning on Wednesday.

During the trip to the Norfolk Naval Air Station, Rajnath was given a demonstration of an F/A-18E fighter of the US Navy. The Norfolk base is the world's largest naval base. Rajnath Singh also visited the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a simulator of Super Hornet at the US Navy base at Norfolk

The F/A-18E is the single-seat version of the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighter (the 'F' being the two-seater version). Rajnath was also shown a simulator of the F/A-18 Super Hornet and inspected the fighter up close.

US aerospace giant Boeing has been offering the Super Hornet to the Indian Air Force for over a decade. The Super Hornet was not shortlisted by the Indian Air Force for its requirement to buy 126 aircraft, for which the French Rafale was selected in 2012. However, a contract did not materialise.

Boeing is offering a new version of the Super Hornet, dubbed the Block III, to the Indian Air Force for its requirement to buy 114 fighters; the value of the deal is expected to be $15 billion.

Thom Breckenridge, a vice president with Boeing, touted the Super Hornet's capabilities in an interview with PTI.

Interestingly, Breckenridge spoke of the Super Hornet as being a solution for the Indian Navy's aviation requirements.

"The F/A-18's integration with Indian carriers would demonstrate India's commitment as a Major Defence Partner and the Asia Pacific Reassurance Initiative, serving as an important symbol of the new relationship between the United States and India," he declared.

The Indian Navy is considering the Super Hornet and the Rafale for an order for 57 carrier-based fighters. While these aircraft are widely expected to be meant for use on a third aircraft carrier that the Indian Navy is planning to build, Boeing has also touted the Super Hornet as being capable of operating from existing Indian carriers.

The in-service INS Vikramaditya and the under-construction INS Vikrant both use 'ski-jumps' to launch their aircraft. On the other hand, the Indian Navy's third aircraft carrier is expected to use catapults to launch aircraft. Catapults give additional momentum to the aircraft, enabling them to take off at significantly heavier weights, which means carrying more weapons and fuel.

Boeing officials claimed that the company has done simulation work with the Indian Navy on the feasibility of the Super Hornet taking off from aircraft carriers equipped with ski-jumps.

Breckenridge declared that the F/A-18 “is the anchor of US-India naval aviation cooperation that can result in sharing of tactics, upgrades and knowledge and sharing of best practices in modern naval aviation systems, carrier integration know-how, services and training and weapon systems”.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet is currently the main fighter aircraft of the US Navy. The US Navy has purchased around 550 Super Hornets since the late 1990s.

A possibly attractive feature of the Super Hornet is its F414 engine from GE. The DRDO has selected the engine to power an upgraded variant of the Tejas fighter as well as its stealth Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which will fly by 2025.