Boeing Plans Ski-Jump Testing For F/A-18 Super Hornet

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Hornets and ski-jump testing

According to Boeing’s Vice President Thom Breckenridge, the company is planning ski-jump testing for the F/A-18 Super Hornet. This claim was made by the vice president at the DefExpo 2020, which is being held at Lucknow (state of Uttar Pradesh) and is directly related to a possible future Bharatiya Nau Sena (Indian Navy) contract for the Super Hornet.

The Indian Navy uses STOBAR (short take-off but arrested recovery) at her aircraft carriers, whereas the US Navy uses CATOBAR (catapult take-off but arrested recovery). The Indian Navy aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and the under-construction carrier, use STOBAR technology by using a ski-jump ramp.

The Indian Navy had issued a Request for Information (RFI) in 2018 for 57 fighter aircraft, intended as day-and-night capable, all-weather, multi-role, deck-based combat aircraft which can be used for air defence, air-to-surface operations, buddy refueling, reconnaissance etc. from IN aircraft carriers. Competitors for this contract are the Dassault Rafale (France), Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet (USA), MiG-29K (Russia) and the Saab 39 Gripen (Sweden). Scramble Magazine assesses that a twin-engined aircraft will be favored for this role.

Boeing will be conducting their first test-launches of the F/A-18 Super Hornet from a shore-based ski jump in the United States as the culmination of a long-standing message to the Indian Navy that the American aircraft would be compatible with Indian aircraft carriers. Most probably these tests will be performed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River (MD), where Lockheed Martin used the ski jump for refining this manoeuvre for the F-35B Lightning IIs operating from the Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth class (QEC) aircraft carriers.

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