Rafale M, F-35C or F/A-18 Super Hornet Block-3 which one should Indian Navy choose for its 57 fighter requirement?


By: Kartikeya Semwal
We all know that Indian Navy which operates 1 Aircraft Career INS Vikramaditya till date with a couple of Mig-29K fighters; & will soon get its first indigenous Aircraft Career in the next 2-3 years. And for that, it will need new fighter jets to keep up with emerging challenges put up by China’s PLZ Navy in the Indian Ocean region & in Bay of Bengal. New fighters will also be needed to replace the ageing Mig-29Ks on the other aircraft career keeping in mind that China is developing its own aircraft careers that will be well supported by indigenous J-15 & J-20 fighters, the latter of which is a modern day 5th generation stealth jet.
INS Vikramaditya with decked Mig-29Ks & Mi-26 choppers

Indian Navy is gearing up to place an order of 57 fighter planes and a number of jet fighter manufacturing companies from various countries are in the race to get this deal. Now, we all know that India is not going to buy Lockheed Martin’s F-21, nor Eurofighter Typhoon that is considered as a ‘slow & bulky missile truck’. Grippen E offered by Sweden’s Saab isn’t feasible as India’s HAL is itself developing a 4.5 generation MWF (Medium Weight Fighter). That brings the race down to just 3 fighters namely F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-35C being offered by US and Rafale M by France. 
F/A-18 E Super Hornet
Now, 2 out of 3 fighters are costly and this too should be kept in mind by the Indian Navy before placing the order for 57 jet fighters to power its aircraft careers. My take on this is that Indian Navy should go for F/A-18 Super Hornet Block-3. Now you all will think why I didn’t choose Rafale M when IAF (Indian Airforce) has already ordered 36 Rafale jets. The answer is simple, IAF bought the Rafales to counter China’s 5th generation J-20 jets. IAF can further buy another 36 Rafales if needed, but it will come at a big cost. 
F-35C in beast mode 
Another point is that Raafale M has not been battle-tested while US-made F/A-18 Super Hornets have been battle-tested in Iraq & Afghan wars. F-35C too has been battle-tested against IS regime in Iraq & Afghanistan. But it is the most costly aircraft out of all 3. 
Rafale M
An F-35C costs US$108.8 million while an F/A-18 Super Hornet Block-3 costs US$70.5 million and a Rafale M costs US$85million. This means that India can buy 4 Super Hornets under US$300 million while only 3 F-35Cs and 3 Rafale Ms could be brought at US$325+ million. Also, no technology will be given for F-35Cs & only partial technology can be offered for Rafale M, Boeing has offered full TOT if Indian Navy selects F/A-18 Super Hornet Block-3. Now this offer alone is enough to shortlist it for Indian Navy and why not? Also, IAF needs to place an order of 114 medium combat jets. This deal is separate from the 123 fighter jet deal that will be provided by HAL through Tejas Mk-1 & Mark-II LCA (Light Combat Aircrafts). Keeping this factor in mind, if IAF chooses F/A-18 Super Hornet Block-III, it will become a common platform between IAF and Indian Navy. This will bring down the total production, spare parts and maintenance cost for both the forces. Also, India will get access to a lot of much-needed technologies especially the engine technology, IRST & EW (Infrared Satellite Transmission & Electronic Warfare). 
More-so, if IAF orders for a batch of another 36 Rafales, surely it will get access to a certain set of technologies. This way, IAF & Indian Navy can get two different types of 4.5 generation fighters with different sets of technologies. Those technologies can in-turn be used to develop the indigenous MWF fighter which will become the best in its category & better than the rest of 4-4.5 generation fighters. 
Indian Navy can get more Super Hornets when compared to F-35C and Rafale M. And surely, it would need more jets keeping China’s Navy’s threat in mind. The number game does matter.

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