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New
Delhi, 07 April 2005
The
competition to secure the deal of 126 Indian Air
Force (IAF) multi-role fighters was thrown wide open
with the US offer of F-16 Block 70 ‘Fighting
Falcons’ and F/A-18E/F 'Super Hornets’. The
French Dassault Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 was hitherto
regarded as the “frontrunner” and will now face
stiff competition. In a significant move the US
aviation manufacturer Lockheed Martin offered to
build 'exclusive' F-16C Block 70 fighters for the
IAF. Mike Kelly, the Senior Executive of Lockheed
Martin, claimed the projected F-16C Block 70
versions to be “much superior to any existing
fighters in service in the world” and expressed
the willingness for "complete" transfer of
technology.
Although
details of the F-16C Block 70 upgrade are yet to be
revealed one may well expect it to include ––
Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar
capable of interleaving air-to-air, air-to-ground
and terrain following modes, providing high
resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) ground
imaging and capable of automatic terrain following;
Infra-Red (IR) detection kit and a formidable
Electronic Warfare (EW) suite. The “package” may
include an impressive array of US air-to-air and
air-to-ground weaponry and the incorporation of
“aerodynamic” aluminium Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT)
that “blend” nicely with the upper fuselage,
which will ensure long-range and endurance with
unaffected aerodynamic performance.
Perhaps
the US officials realise the IAF fascination for the
Mirage 2000 fighters and the proposed follow-on
Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 variants, as combat records and
performance imprint a deep impact on the servicemens’
psyche. In this context the excellent performance of
the Mirage 2000H/TH fleet during the Kargil conflict
during the summer of 1999 and simultaneous avoidance
of air-combat of Pakistani Air Force (PAF) F-16s did
have their effect. In any case there was decent
possibility that in the event of an air-to-air
confrontation the “no combat-loss record” of
F-16s would have been shattered. Thus perhaps in a
clever move the US administration have
simultaneously offered sale and transfer of
technology of the F/A-18E/F ‘Super Hornet’ naval
multi-role fighters initially designed for
operations from aircraft carriers. It also indicated
the US anticipation of Indian requirement that also
“expands” to medium-weight multi-role fighters
capable of operating on a significant portion of
Asian topography from bases in India.
Far
from being a “knee jerk” move the US
administration may have presented the Super Hornet
offer after a lot of calculations, if US media
snippets are taken to account. With the required
fighters entering service in numbers around
2010–12 and serving as the sentinel up to at least
2030–35, it is important to choose a machine that
has just entered service or is in middle of its
development cycle to ensure significant further
enhancements. Thus, not only Super Hornets can
“run” for the IAF fighter requirement, in many
ways it is capable of fulfilling the requirements of
the rapidly expanding Indian Naval carrier based
fighter requirement.
The multi-mission F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" strike
fighter (F/A-18F variant is a two-seater) is an
upgrade of the combat-proven night strike F/A-18C/D
which provided the USN with a platform that has
range, endurance, and ordnance carriage capabilities
comparable to the A-6 Intruder “heavy duty”
strike platform and incorporates lower Radar Cross
Section (RCS) technology and other survivability
enhancements from outset. The Navy inducted the
first operational F/A-18E/F Super Hornet squadron
(VFA-115) in June 2001, with Super Hornets deployed
on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in July
2002.The F/A-18E/F aircraft are longer than earlier
Hornets, have larger wing area, and carry more
internal fuel which will effectively increase
mission range by forty-one percent and endurance by
fifty percent. The aircraft can also carry the
complete complement of "smart" weapons,
including the newest joint weapons such as Joint
Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and Joint Stand Off
Weapon (JSOW). Carrier recovery payload is increased
to a significant 9,000 pounds with optimal reserve
fuel and a load of Precision Guided Munitions (PGM)
while two General Electric F414 turbo-fan engines
provide 44,000-pounds of thrust. Its nine-to-one
thrust-to-weight ratio is one of the highest of any
modern fighter engine.
Moreover
vital avionics components like Raytheon AN/APG-79
Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) fire
control radar of the Super Hornet are still
undergoing development and offer pristine
technology. AN/APG-79 AESA radar is projected to
increase the F/A-18E/F's air-to-air target detection
and tracking range and provide higher resolution
air-to-ground mapping at longer ranges. The
AN/APG-79 AESA entered low-rate initial production
in September 2003 and is planned to replace the
AN/APG-73 sets of United States Navy (USN) from
2006. For “silent approach” to the targets the
Hughes Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infra-Red
(ATFLIR) is deployed, and features both navigation
and infrared targeting systems, incorporating
"third generation" Mid-Wave Infra-Red (MWIR)
staring focal plane technology.
The
growth potential of the F-18E/F Super Hornets will
allow flexible employment and enhancement strategies
in future years to enable it to remain a formidable
weapons platform for a further two decades. It is
almost sure to carry extended-ranged variants of
AIM-120 AMRAAM Air-to-Air Missiles (AAM) in future
and in any case the MBDA Meteor AAM can be
integrated if necessary to perform “outer-air
battles” akin to F-14 Tomcat/AIM-54 Phoenix
combination. An electronic attack version of the
Super Hornet, the EA-18G "Growler",
modified for escort and close-in jamming is to
commence development and is projected to replace the
USN EA-6B Prowler around 2009.
A
decent order of F-18E/F Super Hornets both for IAF
and Indian naval requirements may well lead to other
carrier based technologies like the Electromagnetic
Aircraft Launch & Recovery systems and with a
bit of luck maritime nuclear propulsion. It will be
interesting to see what the French manufacturer
Dassault offers in return as it will hate to lose
the lucrative IAF requirement, which at one point of
time appeared to be within their grasp. The Mirage
2000-5 Mk2 offer to IAF will certainly incorporate
technologies associated with the Dassault Rafale
multi-role strike fighter, and who knows, Dassault
in sheer desperation may even offer the Rafale to
IAF at a more competitive price if a decent
production run is assured. In any case a significant
proportion of IAF requirement will be manufactured
indigenously with foreign assistance after transfer
of technology eventually bringing the price down.
The “political reliability” of the French
administration to India will serve as an added
advantage as French are reputed for their
wholehearted support to India during the times of
crisis, the latest being during Pokhran 2 nuclear
tests in 1998.
But
the United States by now have their own set of
advantages. Indo–US cooperation after “9/11”
is at an all time high with all branches of the
Armed Forces of both the nations striving hard to
attain inter-operability and joint-cooperation on a
grand scale. Under such a backdrop a common
inventory of Super Hornets is highly desirable for
both the nations. Moreover it was stated that the
IAF had an immediate requirement for some 126
multi-role fighters, a vital need that may be best
fulfilled by the American Aerospace production
machinery in aspects that range from timely
production through delivery, technology transfer, to
high quality after-sales service all within a
time-schedule.
The
Indians on their part should put the greatest stress
on technology sharing and transfer to additionally
ensure the rapid attainment of Initial Operational
Capability (IOC) of the indigenous LCA Tejas and
timely introduction of MCA fleet around 2012–15.
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