Source : IgMp Bureau
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The Rafale Marine and F/A-18 have recently concluded capability demonstration in Goa and new reports indicate that the Indian Navy will now decide on the new deck based fighter jet in the next two months.
Both the French and American manufacturers claim to have the upper hand in the competition and the Navy which has a history of selecting aircraft that is already in service with the Air Force, will not follow the Air Force this time but will select the carrier-based aircraft that fully meets its operational requirements.
Here we compare the French Rafale and American F-18 to understand how they stack against each other for the Indian forces?
Dassault Rafale Marine
Rafale is a French word meaning “gust of wind” and is a twin-engine multirole 4.5 gen fighter aircraft manufactured and designed by Dassault Aviation. The Indian Air Force has placed a massive order to induct 36 Rafale jets to form two Squadrons, one in North India and another in South India. The Rafale Marine is the Naval version of the Rafale fighter jets with similar configuration.
The Dassault Rafale has a delta wing design and is capable of higher G-forces as much as 11G and is available in both single and dual seating cabin configurations. The Rafale is 15.27 metre long and a wingspan of 10.80 metre. The Rafale has GIAT 30M/719B cannon mounted on it with the capability of controlled 0.5 or 1 second bursts at 2,500 RPM. Rafale is equipped with a primary missile as the multi-target, fire-and-forget, air to air MBDA MICA missile. In BVR(Beyond Visual Range) air-to-air missile, Rafale has MBDA Meteor.
Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet
The Navy’s F/A-18E Super Hornet, developed by Boeing Company has a 20% larger airframe, with 41% more range and improved General Electric F414 engines (an upgrade over the Hornet’s F404), providing 35% more thrust. Just so you know, Boeing has been pitching the F-18 to the Indian Air Force as well. The one for the Navy is the Naval version of the F-18 called the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet.
The F-18 Super Hornet has Mach 1.8 speed, similar to the Rafale thanks to the GE sourced dual engines and is equipped with M61A1 Vulcan rotating cannon that can fire 6,000 rounds per minute. Super Hornet has semi-active radar homing Air Intercept Missile (AIM-7 Sparrow) missile. In BVR (Beyond Visual Range) air-to-air missile, Super Hornet has AIM-120 AMRAAM.
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