F/A-18 pitch to Indian Navy takes-off with ski-jump trials

First ever ski-jump take-off of U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet [VX-23 SD213 E/A-18E] by Michael

Last week, Boeing announced the success of the ski-jump trials it conducted on a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet at Patuxent River in Maryland in the U.S.

These trials — a first for the aircraft — were conducted primarily to prove the operability of the fighter from Indian aircraft carriers: the INS Vikramaditya, in service, and the Vikrant, a.k.a IAC-1, under construction at Kochi Shipyard and due for sea trials next year.

All U.S. aircraft carriers use catapults to launch CATOBAR (Catapult Take Off But Arrested Recovery) fighters, which include the F/A-18.

This announcement came after the U.S. Navy and Boeing made presentations to the Indian Navy on December 18th explaining how the trials proved that the catapult-launched fighter could operate as a STOBAR (Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery) from the these two ski-jump carriers. The Indian Navy plans to make its third aircraft carrier, the proposed 65,000-ton IAC-2, a CATOBAR platform.

As such, the navy will require aircraft that can operate as both, STOBAR and CATOBAR fighters.

The U.S. Government and Boeing have offered the aircraft to the Indian Navy for its contest for 57 Multi-Role Carrier-Borne Fighters (MRCBF). The French Rafale M and the Russian MiG-29K, which is already in service in the Indian Navy, are also contenders.

No major modifications were made to the aircraft before the tests. According to Ankur Kanaglekar of Boeing, “The ski jump trials involves an ‘instrumented’ F/A-18 Super Hornet jet (i.e. aircraft that has sensors attached to capture the strains) to measure the increased strain of STOBAR operations. Depending on test objectives, several jumps with different aircraft configuration took place. Each jump was carefully scrutinized by the joint Boeing and USN test team before attempting the next take-off. The vast amount of data gathered here will help refine the modelling and simulation studies.”

So how exactly did the process work?

“Since 2018, Boeing teams have been conducting simulation analysis in partnership with USN, in preparation of the ski-jump trials. The entire test program was developed with safety as a foremost priority. We used a build-up test approach, starting with very conservative conditions and gradually working up to heavier take-off weights and shorter take-off distances,” said Kanaglekar.

“The ski-jump concluded goes a step further and will help validate the past studies conducted by us on the ability of F/A-18 Super Hornet to operate effectively from the ski jump,” said he added.

The trials did not replicate the operational conditions (like the standard deck run) onboard the INS Vikramaditya or those that could be expected aboard the Vikrant, when it comes into service.

When the Indian Navy requested information from fighter aircraft manufacturers, it provided them a set of parameters that would apply to operations from these two aircraft carriers.

Boeing took the data and using Computational Fluid Dynamics, (CFD) created a simulation model of how the F/A-18 Super Hornet could operate from these carriers, with more than 150 flight simulations carried out.

This CFD simulation model is what the ski-jump trials have validated.

[Incidentally, the U.S. Navy had carried out ski-jump trials of the classic F/A-18 Hornet in 1979, with a total of 91 launches. Records say that at the time, “The minimum ground roll for the F/A-18 was 385 feet (~117 m) at a gross weight of 32,800 lbs (~14,878 kgs). This ramp effectively reduced the takeoff roll of the F-18 by more than 50 percent.” The ramp? “A metal ramp was constructed that could be modified to give ramp exit angles of 3, 6, and 9 degrees. The ramp was 112.1 feet long and 8.58 feet high at the exit when configured for the 9 degree exit angle, measured from the horizontal,” say the records. ]

StratPost understands that, taken together, the CFD simulation and the ski-jump trials establish the capability of the aircraft to be able to perform at a standard that is slightly higher than expected by the Indian Navy. With the validation of the model, Boeing does not need to conduct any more trials, at this time.

With this validation, the Super Hornet is the only fighter of the three in contention that could conceivably operate off, both, CATOBAR and STOBAR carriers. While the Rafale M operates only off CATOBAR carriers, the MiG-29K is a STOBAR aircraft. Dassault has apparently conducted STOBAR simulations for the Rafale, as well, but not ski-jump trials.

Also worth noting is a sliver of the remarks of Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Karambir Singh, to news media at the annual Navy Day press conference earlier this month. Talking about the navy’s plans to acquire new fighters, he said, “We’ve got the MiG-29s presently, which are operating from – they’ll operate from the Vikramaditya and the IAC. Meanwhile, to replace the MiG-29s, we’ve taken up a case for the MRCBF, which we are trying to do along with the Indian Air Force (IAF).”

What stood out quietly was the stated intention of the MRCBF to replace the in-service MiG-29K; as such, an acceptance of the level of satisfaction with the aircraft, and a revision of earlier planning. The MRCBF Request For Information (RFI) had contemplated both STOBAR and CATOBAR operations, but if the navy’s intent in acquisition has evolved from an addition to its fleet that would subsume the role of the MiG-29K, as its successor, to an outright replacement of the Russian fighter, it would represent a significant change in thinking.

The second point of interest is the attempt to make a case for the MRCBF along with the IAF. Although an ideal solution, it could be problematic, with the IAF unlikely to tie their performance requirements to those of the navy, with such a case being quite redundant if it were made for the MiG-29 and MiG-29K, and difficulties that could arise with the Rafale M, given weight penalties, that the two-seat variant is not carrier-capable and its delta wings don’t fold, complicating Indian deck and lift footprint issues, that could apply to the other aircraft under consideration, as well, in one way or another.

A move to replace the MiG-29K, with a potential indigenous Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) more than a decade away, would require innovation to fit a new fighter on India’s carriers.

Boeing is pitching the carrier capability of its two-seat variant over the Rafale. Kanaglekar says the second seat will make advanced missions easier and effectively operationalise ‘carrier-based naval aviation technologies related to Manned-Unmanned interface’.

The company has also developed a Carrier Compatibility System from its Bangalore operations, which Kanaglekar says would allow the aircraft to fit onboard Indian carriers.

Besides these, Boeing says the ability of the Block III to interface with U.S.-origin assets like the P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft, the increase in service life from 6,000 hours to 10,000 hours, superior economics, Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFTs) and advanced mission computer and crew station make the aircraft an attractive option for the navy.

And finally, the pitch rests on reaping the benefits of the increasing engagement between the Indian Navy and the U.S. Navy. “The commonality and potential interoperability between the USN & IN would get boosted as a result of F/A-18 Super Hornet on Indian Navy carriers. Built around Super Hornet, the two navies can potentially collaborate on operational readiness, carrier integration, technologies, pilot training and development as a result of F/A-18 Super Hornet offer,” says Kanaglekar.

Boeing has delivered over 570 Super Hornets and 160 Growlers to the U.S. Navy and was awarded a three-year contract for 78 F/A-18 Block III Super Hornets in 2019.