After the Indian Air Force got its hands on modern fighter jets like Tejas, Rafale, and placed another huge order of over 100 fighter jets to replace the old fleet, now the Indian Navy is looking for an overhaul . The Navy needs a new batch of modern fighters to operate from its aircraft carriers. The Indian Navy began the process of acquiring 57 multi-role fighter aircraft for its aircraft carrier nearly four years ago. However, they will add about 30 advance fighter jets to the fleet and will replace the older MiG-29K, the naval version of the jet.
Recently, the Navy conducted tests with the Dassault Rafale, a French 4.5 gen fighter jet already in service with the Indian Air Force, and also the Boeing F-18 Hornet, which allows these jets to operate on aircraft carriers. Made in the USA to test capabilities. , Both the jets get Air Force as well as Navy versions.
The Indian Navy is also working on the TEDBF program which is a twin engine deck based fighter program for Made-in-India fighter jets. Since these jets will take time to develop and will eventually replace foreign fighter jets in the fleet, the Navy needs some modern machines in the interim to replace the Russian MIG.
Here we compare the French Rafale and the American F-18 to understand how they stack up against each other for the Indian Army.
Dassault Rafale Marine
Rafale is a French word meaning “gust of wind” and is a twin-engined multirole 4.5 gen fighter aircraft built and designed by Dassault Aviation. The Indian Air Force has placed a massive order inducting 36 Rafale jets to form two squadrons, one in North India and the other in South India. The Rafale Marine is the naval version of the Rafale fighter jet of similar configuration.
The Dassault Rafale features a delta wing design and is capable of G-forces as high as 11G and is available in both single and dual seating cabin configurations. Rafale has a length of 15.27 meters and a wingspan of 10.80 meters. The Rafale is fitted with a GIAT 30M/719B cannon with a burst capability of 0.5 or 1 second controlled at 2,500 RPM. Rafale is equipped with a primary missile in the form of multi-target, fire-and-forget, air to air MBDA MICA missile. The BVR (Beyond Visual Range) air-to-air missile, Rafale has MBDA Meteor.
Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Navy’s F/A-18E Super Hornet, developed by the Boeing Company, has a 20% larger airframe, 41% more range, and an improved General Electric F414 engine (upgraded over the Hornet’s F404), which provides 35% more thrust. As you know, Boeing is pitching the F-18 for the Indian Air Force as well. For the Navy there is a naval version of the F-18.
The F-18 Super Hornet is equipped with the M61A1 Vulcan rotating cannon that can fire 6,000 rounds per minute. The Super Hornet carries a semi-active radar homing air intercept missile (AIM-7 Sparrow) missile. The BVR (Beyond Visual Range) air-to-air missile, Super Hornet has AIM-120 AMRAAM.