Although India possesses Russian-built MiG-29K as combat jets for its aircraft carrier warships, their poor serviceability has led to the Indian Navy looking for alternatives

After France, the United States is set for an operational demonstration of its naval combat jets to India. It is said that Boeing would bring its F-18 Super Hornet to Indian Navy’s Shore-Based Testing Facility (SBTF) at Goa later this month to showcase the jets’ capability.

Although India possesses Russian-built MiG-29K as combat jets for its aircraft carrier warships, their poor serviceability has led to the Indian Navy looking for alternatives abroad, as home-grown naval jets are not yet operationally ready.

Following the trials, the performance of F-18 and French Rafale-M would be compared and evaluated by the Indian Navy before a decision is taken to buy 26 jets in a government-to-government contract for India’s two aircraft carriers – INS Vikramaditya and the upcoming INS Vikrant.

Sources said the Indian Navy was looking for a stop-gap arrangement with two squadrons of imported jets, which would fly for the next 10-15 years before the Light Combat Aircraft-Navy (TEJAS-Navy) could be ready for induction by the middle of the next decade.

The trials of French origin Rafale-M took place in January at the angled ski-jump facility at INS Hansa in Goa. The flights continued for nearly two weeks.

The US test flights may also occur for a similar period during which India, among other things, would closely examine the option of smooth movement of the aircraft from the flight deck to the maintenance hangar.

The US jets come with a foldable wing to facilitate such a movement between the two decks. For the French-built Rafale, the solution was to remove a part of the aircraft’s wings before the plane could be accommodated in the carrier’s elevator.

Although India’s initial plan was to buy 57 deck-based fighters, it was revised after the Defence Research and Development Agency (DRDO) and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) substantially improved the TEJAS-Navy after receiving flak by then Indian Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba.

Following the improvements, TEJAS-Navy carried out extensive trials at the SBTF and made an arrested landing onboard INS Vikramaditya as well. The DRDO and ADA now hope that a twin-engine version of the TEJAS-Navy would be ready for trial by 2026, and could be ready for induction into the Navy by 2032 if the trials produce good results.