Khalem Chapman explores Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block III offering to the Indian Navy as it looks to further modernize its carrier-based fighter fleet
Over the past decade, the Indian Navy has embarked on a mission to modernize the capabilities of its carrier-based fighter force – a move that will eventually have seen the naval air arm operate three very different platforms of varying descents in an approximate ten-year period. Until March 2016, the backbone of India’s carrier-based fighter capability was provided by an aging fleet of 23 single-seat British Aerospace (BAe) Sea Harrier FRS.51 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)-configured fighters – complemented by six two-seat Harrier T.60 fighter-trainers – which entered operational service in March 1984.
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