According to a report by the Indian Defense News website on the 29th, in order to develop a closer cooperative relationship with India, the United States proposed to the Indian Navy that it could provide F-18 fighter jets to meet its aircraft carrier’s demand for carrier-based aircraft.
According to reports, a few years ago, the Indian Navy expressed its intention to purchase 57 carrier-based fighter jets from the United States for the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (INS Vikramaditya) and the domestically produced aircraft carrier under construction.
A source in the Indian government said: “During the two countries’ ‘2+2’ meeting, the US government made a proposal to provide the Indian Navy with their F-18 fighter jets.”
According to reports, the US government recently proposed to sell F-18 fighter jets, Sea Guardian drones and other systems to the Indian Navy.
At present, the Indian Navy is evaluating the current status and future needs of F-18 and Rafale fighters, because India’s current carrier-based aircraft may be phased out in the late 2020s or early 2030s. Both the Rafale fighter aircraft and the F-18 fighter aircraft demonstrated to the Indian Navy their ability to simulate take-off and landing on the aircraft carrier “Chori King”.
According to reports, the Indian Navy has recently begun to use American equipment on a large scale. Its long-range reconnaissance aircraft fleet consists of 12 P-8I “Poseidon” maritime patrol aircraft, and there will be an additional 6 in the near future. The “Sea King” multi-purpose helicopters will also be replaced by 24 MH-60 “Sea Hawk” helicopters, which are purchased in accordance with the “government-to-government” transaction model.
U.S. equipment exported to India also includes C-17 heavy transport aircraft, C-130J “Super Hercules” transport aircraft, M-777 ultralight howitzer, AH-64 “Apache” helicopter, CH-47 “Chinook” helicopter and SiG Sauer assault rifle. In the past decade, American weapons have become the backbone of the Indian Air Force and Army.
US Secretary of State Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Esper arrive at the National War Memorial in New Delhi, India
According to the report, the United States has also shared a lot of information with India about the deployment and activities of the PLA during the military confrontation.
