Super Hornet Fighter Jet Boeing
Source : CNBC
GS II : Internal Security
What is discussed under Super Hornet Fighter Jet Boeing?
- About F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III fighters
- Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant
Why in News ?
Indian Navy is preparing to commission the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant US aerospace major Boeing has made a strong pitch for its F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III fighters as the best deck-based jets to operate from the aircraft carrier.
About F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III fighters
- Indian Navy had initiated the process of acquiring 57 multi-role combat aircraft for its aircraft carrier over four years ago.
- It plans to procure 26 aircraft in the next few months.
- The Navy has shortlisted the F/A-18 Super Hornet and French Rafale M single-seater produced by Dassault Aviation.
- Boeing will offer single and two-seater variants to the Indian Navy.
- The Super Hornet Block III has been built for carrier aircraft operations and it is the fighter that the US Navy depends on for its operations.
- The F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III has been designed as a carrier-based fighter for high-loading, high stress operations and requires minimal support equipment.
- The jets have the lowest operational cost per flight hour and high mission readiness rates.
Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant
- The first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy, Vikrant is the largest warship ever constructed in India.
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay - India is now part of a select group of countries with the capacity to design and construct these massive, powerful warships.
- The Battleship Design Bureau (WDB), the Navy’s own organisation, created the warship, which was delivered to the Navy by the maker, Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL).
Importance of Aircraft Carrier
- One of any country’s most effective naval assets is an aircraft carrier, which increases a Navy’s ability to conduct air dominance operations far from home shores.
- The aircraft carrier is typically accompanied in the group by destroyers, missile cruisers, frigates, submarines, and supply ships because it is a prized and occasionally vulnerable target.
- A navy with the ability to demonstrate the might and power of a country on the high seas.
- The ‘INS Vikramaditya’, which was commissioned in 2013 and which is currently the Navy’s only aircraft carrier, started out as the Soviet-Russian warship ‘Admiral Gorshkov’.
Features of Vikrant
- It has a maximum designed speed of 28 knots (about 52 km/h) with an endurance of 7500 NM.
- Capable of operating 30 aircraft including MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 Air Early Warning Helicopters, MH-60R Seahawk multi-role helicopters, as well as the Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
- Steel Authority of India Limited indigenized the warship-grade steel needed to construct the IAC-1 (SAIL).
- Indigenous content of the project is approximately 76%.
- About 80–85 percent of the project’s estimated 23,000 crore was invested back in the Indian economy.
- 44,500-tonne vessel and can carry up to 34 aircraft, including both fighter jets and helicopters.
- The ship will be capable of operating 30 aircraft including
- MiG-29K fighter jets
- Kamov-31 Air Early Warning Helicopters
- MH-60R Seahawk multi-role helicopters
- Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) built by Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd
- Indigenously manufactured Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy).
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