Rafale M ski-jump trials and possible lease

As from 6 January 2022, the Bharatiya Nau Sena (BNS, Indian Navy) will start ski-jump trials at INS Hansa (Goa/Dabolim) for a period of twelve days with the Dassault Rafale M. The naval Rafale version is one of the contenders in India's Multi-Role Carrier-Borne Fighter (MRCBF) programme.

With the navy's quest for 57 multirole fighter aircraft to operate off its future aircraft carriers, France is eager to get this contract. The trials are to assess if the Rafale M is able to take off, under various circumstances, from a 283 metres flight deck equipped with a ski-jump.

India's newest aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, is scheduled to entry service in August 2022. Currently the carrier, operating from the Cochin shipyard (state of Kerala), is undergoing intensive sea trials in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

In March 2022, the Indian Navy will test the other contender, the Boeing F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet. The Hornet has already made take-offs from a ski-jump as part of a test campaign launched in 2020 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River (MD). Scramble Magazine reported on these trials in December 2020.

Next to the upcoming trials for the two contenders rumours are already circulating in India that there is a possibility that India will ask the French government to lease four to five Rafale Ms in 2022 to make the aircraft carrier operational. It is also reported that structural modifications to the INS Vikrant's elevators have to be made to accomodate the Super Hornet.

The Indian Navy currently operates two squadrons of MiG-29Ks aboard its only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. However, the Russian fighters face maintenance and spare parts availability challenges. The arrival of a new fighter is key for the Indian Navy capabilities.

Photo by Marine Nationale