Mihir Paul

Boeing’s defence business in India has seen colossal growth in the last few years. With procurement efforts for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy boldly picking up speed in 2018, Boeing, in 2019, brings some alluring additions to their ongoing offers to sweeten the deals further.

Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet

In the context of the MRCA 2.0 programme, the second iteration of the multi-role fighter aircraft competition for the IAF, Boeing is fielding its Block III variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet multi-role fighter. While the IAF has been looking for a capable multi-role fighter since the first MRCA competition back in 2007, with the entire competition being scrapped in favour of only 36 Rafales as an ‘emergency purchase’, now the IAF is eagerly looking forward to the progression of MMRCA 2.0 to increase its diminishing squadron strength.

Boeing’s F/A-18 Block III is one of the contenders along with six other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that had responded to the ministry of defence’s (MoD’s) new Request for Information (RFI) for 110 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRCA 2.0) back in April 2018. Boeing is now fielding the F/A-18IN, a customised Indian version based on the F/A-18 E/F. The twin-engine F/A-18 E/F is considered as an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft which can also be carrier launched. The F/A-18 E/F is based on F/A-18 C/D variants. The Super Hornet Block has a new larger airframe and has seen extensive avionics upgrades, and extensive action in Middle Eastern conflicts in the last two decades. The variant being offered to India, with a ‘Make in