Why are 2 American F/A-18 Super Hornets in Goa?

The Super Hornets have arrived just months after French-origin fighter aircraft Rafale-M made a similar landing.

<I>F/A-18E Super Hornets in formation over the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln while the ship is underway in the Philippine Sea. Image: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Javier Reyes/US Navy Photo</I>

Months after French-origin fighter aircraft Rafale-M carried out successful trials on the Indian Navy's shore-based test facility (SBTF), two US-made Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets landed on Monday in Goa to make their bid.

"The objective is to display compatibility and suitability of the aircraft to operate from the Indian aircraft carrier," a source in the Indian Navy said. 

<I>Image: An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the "Tophatters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Image: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Javier Reyes/US Navy Photo</I>

As per the source, the display and trials would be completed by June first week.

Rafale-M had carried out trials in January this year. It should be mentioned that the French-made aircraft operate from the French Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle while the F/A 18 Super Hornets operate from US Navy's carriers like USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagon.

<I>Image: An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the "Tophatters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14, launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Image: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Javier Reyes/US Navy Photo</I>

At Goa-based SBTF, the fighter jets can make a ski-jump for take-offs and arresting gear cable for arrested landing.

Currently, India has only one aircraft carrier in its fleet. The second, the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), has entered an advanced phase and is currently carrying out sea trials. It would be commissioned into the Indian Navy later this year.