VAYU : Boeing currently supports the Indian Navy with a fleet of 12 P-8Is. What makes the platform suitable to support the Indian Navy’s objectives in the Indo-Pacific region?
A. The P-8s Indian variant, referred to as P-8I, is an aircraft designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The P-8 delivers highest levels of quality, reliability and operability. A true multi-mission aircraft, it is defined by a unique combination of stateof- the-art sensors, proven weapons systems, and a globally recognised platform. Notably, the Indian Navy was the first international customer for the P-8 and today operates the largest non-US fleet. In fact, on 19 December, it will be a decade since the first P-8I was delivered to the Indian Navy – a significant milestone in our growing relationship with the navy. Since the induction of the P-8I in the Indian Navy, Boeing has been supporting the fleet to ensure high rates of mission readiness. With its 12 P-8Is, the Indian Navy is rapidly increasing its capability to seal and protect its vast coastline – while also playing a greater role in regional maritime security. In addition to unmatched maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare capabilities, the P-8I has been deployed to assist during disaster relief and humanitarian missions. The patrol aircraft is an integral part of the Indian Navy’s fleet and has surpassed 35,000 flight hours since it was inducted in 2013. We believe that the Indian Navy may have a requirement for more P-8Is as also more Harpoons and we stand ready to support them. A formidable part of the Indian Navy’s fleet, the P-8 is a proven system with more than 140 aircraft in service that have executed more than 400,000 mishap free flight-hours around the globe. Along with the Indian Navy, the P-8 family includes the US Navy, the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Norwegian Air Force. Militaries that have selected the P-8 include the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Republic of Korea Navy and German Navy. The P-8’s performance and reliability delivers confidence in an uncertain world—in any condition, anywhere, anytime. The P-8 combines the most advanced weapon system in the world with the cost advantages of the most operated commercial airliner on the planet. The P-8 shares 86% commonality with the commercial 737NG, providing enormous supply chain economies of scale in production and support. Boeing’s expertise in commercial fleet management and derivative aircraft sustainment also provides customers with greater availability at a lower operational cost. The P-8 is engineered for 25 years/25,000 hours in the harshest maritime flight regimes, including extended operations in icing environments.
VAYU : What are the advantages of using the 737 as a platform for P-8?
A. The platform has a reliability of greater than 99% and a world-wide base of support, parts and training. Based on the Next Generation 737-800, the P-8 leverages the commonality of the platform, roughly 86%, to reduce support and training costs over the life of the aircraft as well as utilise the world-wide availability of parts. Even before delivery, the P-8 benefits from the fact that it is a modified 737. Built using the same in-line production processes as the commercial 737s, the P-8 has benefitted from those production line efficiencies, which have largely contributed to an overall 30% cost savings and 50% reduction in production time. That translates into savings for P-8 customers and has also resulted in Boeing’s ability to deliver P-8s on or ahead of schedule.
VAYU : Are there any Indian suppliers contributing to the P-8I programme?
A. For both the P-8I and P-8A, we work with a number of Indian companies, including Avantel, Dynamatic Technologies, Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Electronics, Electronics Corporation of India, Rossell Techsys, Fokker Elmo Sasmos, and TATA Advanced Materials. They provide a variety of items such as structures, wiring harnesses, composites and electronics.
VAYU : Boeing is also offering the carrier fighter F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III to the Indian Navy. What are the advantages the platform offers which cater to the requirements specific to the Indian Navy?
A. The F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III is specifically designed, from its inception, for carrier operations. One of the main benefits of this is that the aircraft has the ability to fold its wings, allowing for better utilisation of deck space on the aircraft carrier. Boeing has conducted thorough study and analysis that optimises the number of Super Hornets that can fit aboard INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, as well as optimises the cyclic operations from those carriers leading to high sortie generation rates. Boeing has also developed a capability specifically for the F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III that will allow for the faster movement of the aircraft between the flight deck and hangar deck without having to remove or modify any part of the aircraft. This capability is compatible with the current elevator/ lift configuration aboard Indian aircraft carriers. Another important fact to note is that the two-seater carrier compatible variant of the Super Hornet offers several unique advantages to the IN including flexibility, higher utilisation of the fleet, and the ability to embark certain missions from the carrier that benefit from having the second crew member. Additionally, twoseater F/A-18 Super Hornets can be used as trainers (ashore and on the carrier) and as fully capable fighters, operational from carrier and from land bases. Thus, IN will get tremendous flexibility and a higher asset utilisation rate due to the carrier compatible variant of the two-seater variant of the F/A-18. The F/A-18 Super Hornet has a very attractive lifecycle cost too. It not only has an affordable acquisition cost, but it costs less per flight hour to operate than any other tactical aircraft in production in the US forces inventory. This is possible because the fighter is designed for ease of maintainability and offers impressive durability with the life of the airframe up to 10,000 hrs. Boeing’s sustainment programme, “By India, For India”, is built on the success of existing programmes that the company is executing for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and IN today. These programmes will enable us to develop select capabilities to sustain the Super Hornet out of India. The Super Hornet is powered by the GE F-414 engine that has clocked cumulatively more than 5 million hours. The same family of engines is powering India’s indigenous Light Combat Aircraft inducted by the IAF. The commonality in engines would create scale efficiencies for potential sustainment opportunities in India in the future. The Block III’s networking allows the F/A-18 Super Hornet to interface with other assets of the IN. For example, F/A-18s of the IN can potentially share data with P-8Is of the IN or P-8 of US Navy and Royal Australian Air Force to significantly improve the capability of the partner countries for helping secure the Indo-Pacific. Recently, there have been tremendous advancements in unmanned systems that are to be used in a naval aviation environment. In the coming days, as IN inducts such systems, both the single-seat and two-seat versions of the Super Hornet on the IN carrier will allow interfacing with unmanned carrier-borne systems more effectively.
VAYU : There is an increasing focus from the government on Make in India for the aerospace and defence sector. Do you have any plans to support Make in India for the F/A-18 Super Hornet?
A. Boeing plans to continue to strengthen its Make in India initiatives, building on a successful track record of contributing to India’s indigenous aerospace and defence ecosystem. As part of this effort, Boeing anticipates $3.6 billion in economic impact to the Indian aerospace and defence industry over the next 10 years, with the F/A-18 Super Hornet as India’s next carrier-based fighter. The economic impact would be over and above Boeing’s current offset obligations and plans in the country. The strategy includes five key pillars:
1. Supply Chain Development and Manufacturing: The new plan builds on Boeing’s sourcing of $1 billion annually from over 300 Indian suppliers of parts, assemblies and services. Boeing has added several new Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) suppliers in support of our commitment to Aatmanirbhar Bharat, and they account for over 25 percent of our suppliers in India. The plan also envisages potential for additional manufacturing opportunities, including the F/A-18’s Outer Wing and Nose Barrel component manufacturing and assembly. Additionally, Boeing is reviewing several hundred other machined assemblies that could be placed with Indian suppliers.
2. Engineering and Technology Transfer: Boeing envisions working closely with industry and the US and Indian governments to share technology and transfer work of the F/A-18 fighter jets in India, based on interest and business case. Boeing will also leverage investments made in the Boeing India Engineering & Technology Centre (BIETC) and its talented pool of 3,000+ engineers and innovators in Bengaluru and Chennai to drive growth and innovation, and advance work in materials, manufacturing technologies and methods, and the “Digital World.” As a part of “Digital World,” new manufacturing processes have been established, and Boeing has unlocked the potential of the Full-Size Determinant Assembly (FSDA) approach for its customers. With the F/A-18, Boeing will continue to explore opportunities to bring FSDA-related advanced technologies to the Indian defence industry.
3. Support and training: Boeing will collaborate with the Ministry of Defence and Indian industry to develop long-term and self-reliant sustainment solutions for the Super Hornet fleet to deliver increased aircraft availability and mission readiness. This will be done by leveraging the existing industry ecosystem across key support areas such as On and Off Aircraft Maintenance, Sustaining Engineering, Fleet Operations Support, and Training, and by leveraging the local Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO) capabilities that Boeing Defence India is building.
4. Investments: Boeing India employs 4,000 employees directly, and over 7,000 are employed by key suppliers in India. Boeing’s joint venture with Tata, Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited, manufactures aerostructures for Apache attack helicopters for global customers out of Hyderabad. In addition, foreign direct investment (FDI) of $200 million has been made by Boeing towards setting up a 43-acre state-of-the-art engineering and technology campus under construction in Bengaluru. This campus will be the largest Boeing-owned facility of its kind outside the US.
5. Impact by Hornet Industry Team: The diversity and strength of the Hornet Industry Team, comprising of General Electric, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, has the potential to deliver significant benefits to Indian industry. These industry leaders have proven their commitment to India by collaborating with Indian entities and delivering on Aatmanirbhar Bharat objectives. The F/A- 18 will enhance collaboration with Indian industry by facilitating knowledge transfer and promoting autonomy in operating and maintaining India’s fleet of F/A-18 aircraft. Further, this knowledge transfer may also provide opportunities for India to support F/A-18 fleets around the world through manufacturing and sustainment.