Boeing has announced plans to test its F/A-18 Super Hornet jet on a carrier ski-jump to make a pitch for India’s carrier-based aircraft procurement program even as Russia’s MiG is expecting an order to supply the MiG-29K jets for the same.
India’s Russian origin aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya and India’s first Indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-1) use the ski-jump system while US carriers use the catapult-launch system. India has also been planning to build 65,000-tonne IAC-2, INS Vishal. Last year, BAE Systems offered to build a customized HMS Queen Elizabeth-type aircraft carrier for India, with an adaptable design for ski-jump and catapult launch. Read More…
