The Indian Navy is evaluating the report of the extensive trials of the French Rafale
and US-made F-18 fighter planes for a defence deal worth $5 billion
New Delhi: The Indian Navy is evaluating the report of the extensive trials of the French Rafale and US-made F-18 fighter planes for a defence deal worth $5 billion.
The fighter aircraft will be acquired under a government-to-government deal by the Indian Navy for operations from its latest aircraft carrier cc which was commissioned recently by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kochi, Kerala.
“The extensive trial was held by a naval team in Goa for both the fighter aircraft Rafale and F-18. The report is with the headquarters and is being eventuated for final shortlisting,” ANI quoted officials as saying.
The evaluation is intended to to see whether the aircraft have met the technical specifications required by the Indian Navy. The American aircraft are built for carriers weighing around one lakh tonnes while the French Rafale is intended for 60,000 tonne carriers.
The Indian Navy currently operates MiG-29K planes from the INS Vikramaditya. However, the MiG-29K does not have a very strong serviceability record and their numbers are considered to be sufficient for only one aircraft carrier.
The trial report would determine the winner of the competition which was earlier planned for around 57 planes but now has been reduced to 26. The last time these two planes took part in an Indian tender, the Rafale had emerged as a winner but that deal could not be completed due to technical issues.
However, based on the final selection of the previous deal, the government acquired 36 Rafales which played a big role during the deployment against china in eastern Ladakh and other areas.
The US company that has manufactured the F-18 has been claiming that it has improved the performance and capabilities of the plane compared to the last competition saying that they have met all requirements of the Indian Navy.
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