Titans of the skies - three best aircraft carrier jets compared

The aircraft carrier is a powerful metric to gauge the naval superiority of a country and hence remains the flagship of the most powerful navies of the world. The U.S. Navy tops the list having deployed the most advanced aircraft carriers to date. Coming in close, the UK has two powerful Queen Elizabeth-class carriers that have been serving in the Royal Navy since 2017.

Aircraft Carrier Fleet Strength by Country (2022) | globalfirepower

Question is, what makes an aircraft carrier so important and lethal on the seas?

Aircraft carriers play a major role in winning decisive naval battles and also carry and launch military fighters, aircraft, and helicopters from their deck. Therefore it follows that aircraft operating from these war machines are suitably capable, effective and compliant with the technical operations of the carrier.

The Dassault Rafale, the F-35B Lightning II, and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet are the best of their class. but which amongst them, comes out at the top?

The French Rafale Marine (M) Fighter Jet

Naval News

Manufactured by Dassault Rafale, it is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft that can operate from either an aircraft carrier or a land base. The Rafale M features a greatly reinforced undercarriage to cope with the additional stresses of naval landings, an arrestor hook and a "jump strut" nosewheel, which only extends during short takeoffs, including catapult launches.

Ski Jump launch | Representative | The Drive

It also features a built-in ladder, carrier-based microwave landing system and the new fin-tip Telemir system for syncing the inertial navigation system to external equipment.

Although not a full-aspect stealth aircraft, the Rafale is designed for a reduced radar cross-section (RCS) and infrared signature.

For compatibility with armaments of varying types and origins, Rafale's onboard store management system is compliant with MIL-STD-1760, an electrical interface between an aircraft and its carriage stores, thereby simplifying the incorporation of many of their existing weapons and equipment.

According to Dassault, Rafale's onboard mission systems enable ground attack and air-to-air combat operations to be carried out within a single sortie, with many functions capable of simultaneous execution in conjunction with another, increasing survivability and versatility.

Furthermore, the Rafale M version features only 13 hardpoints when compared to the 14 on a typical Rafale, five of which are suitable for heavy armament or equipment.

 Its combination of agility, deadly weapons and perfect systems make it one of the top contenders for the top spot.

The Boeing F/A-18 E/A Super Hornet 

Posterazzi

The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.

Survivability is an important feature of the Super Hornet design. It does not rely on stealth, instead, its design incorporates a combination of signature reduction, advanced electronic-warfare capabilities, reduced ballistic vulnerability, use of standoff weapons, and innovative tactics that collectively enhance the safety of the fighter and crew affordably.

Although being a very reliable and inexpensive option, it's inferior at high altitudes when compared to other competitors of its class.

While the F/A-18E/F is not a stealth fighter like the F-22, it features a frontal radar cross-section (RCS) an order of magnitude smaller than prior generation fighters.

F22 Raptor | Representative | The Aviation Geek Club

Two Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters are undergoing trials at the shore-based test facility at INS Hansa in Goa to showcase their compatibility and suitability to operate from Indian aircraft carriers

Alain Garcia, vice president of Boeing's India Business Development, made a strong sales pitch for F/A-18 Super Hornet, saying the aircraft has been specifically designed for carrier operations. Garcia said that the fighter jet can operate from the Indian Navy warships and will meet or exceed the STOBAR (Short Take-off But Arrested Recovery) performance requirements of the Indian Navy.

Alain Garcia | Asian Military Review

Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet (SPECS)

The Block III Super Hornet comes with advanced networking and open architecture design that allows it to work jointly with the Indian Navy's P-8I and other US-origin assets, according to a Boeing executiveAccording to Boeing, the two versions of the Super Hornet can conduct day/night strikes with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defences, maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward air control and tanker missions.

The first few photos of the fighters, undergoing testing since 23 May, have come up on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Dish_Troyer/status/1530068771016425472

The Super Hornet has become the most classic carrier-based aircraft of the modern times for the US Navy after having proved itself in both- fighter and attack roles.

The F-35B Fighter

The Drive

The Lockheed Martin F-35B is the version of the F-35 Lightning II meant to perform on aircraft carriers. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions.

F 35 Lightning II | Metalphoto of Cincinnatti

It is the second fifth-generation fighter to enter US service and the first operational supersonic STOVL stealth fighter.

Featuring advanced avionics and sensor fusion that enable a high level of situational awareness and long-range lethality, it has kinematics competitive with fourth-generation fighters such as the F-16 and F/A-18, although it still lacks the raw performance of the larger twin-engine F-22.

All variants have a top speed of Mach 1.6, attainable with a full internal payload.

Lockheed Martin is developing a weapon rack called Sidekick that would enable the internal outboard station to carry two AIM-120s, thus increasing the internal air-to-air payload to six missiles.

The F-35 is expected to be continually upgraded over its lifetime.

Other worthy mentions are the Chinese Shenyang J-15 and the Russian Mikoyan MiG-29K. While the former is yet to prove its mettle as a fighter, the latter would have surely ranked higher, if not for the issues faced by the Indian Navy.

Shenyang J-15 | Twitter

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COVER: DeviantArt

Qatar Airways is ready to see its legal dispute with Airbus over flaws with the protective skin of A350 wide-body jets through to trial, the Gulf carrier said on Tuesday, May 31.

Qatar Airways is suing the European planemaker in a UK court for USD 1 billion in damages after grounding about two dozen of its A350s experiencing the flaws, which it says raise safety concerns - something Airbus and European regulators deny.

ALSO READ - Qatar Airways takes Airbus to London High Court over A350 skin damage

Until now, Qatar Airways has appeared broadly isolated in the dispute as other airlines continue to fly the jets, though the Gulf carrier has won some public encouragement from global airlines association IATA and rival Gulf carrier Emirates.

Qatar Airways prepared to take the Airbus legal dispute to trial

A British judge last week rejected Qatar Airways' requests for a series of injunctions, clearing a path towards a full trial on the A350 surface problems and a related dispute over the planemaker's decision to revoke a contract for smaller jets.

ALSO READ - UK court denies compensation to Qatar Airways for cancelled A321neos order by Airbus

On Tuesday, May 31 the airline noted that a longer written version of the judge's decision reflected some arguments that it intends to make in the main trial, as it took the unusual step of reproducing lengthy extracts from the judgment.

Summarising evidence in preliminary hearings, Judge David Waksman noted that the problem that originally appeared in one plane in late 2020 could potentially affect all A350s because of the choice of materials, for which there was no simple fix.

Qatar Airways says it cannot know for sure whether it is a safety problem until Airbus provides a fuller explanation.

Airbus has acknowledged that such issues tend to affect carbon composite aircraft but maintains it is not a safety issue. Qatar Airways says it cannot know for sure whether it is a safety problem until Airbus provides a fuller explanation.

"Qatar Airways is ready to see this matter through to trial to ensure that its rights are protected and that Airbus is required to address an unprecedented and extremely unique and concerning defect impacting the A350 aircraft type, across the industry and multiple carriers," it said in a statement.

Airbus dismissed what it termed a misreading of last week's ruling, which had seen Qatar's procedural requests rejected while forcing the airline to pay most allowable Airbus costs.

Qatar Airways said it was “extremely concerned” about the precedent being set by Airbus in cancelling the A321 contract.  

"Airbus is surprised by Qatar's complete mischaracterisation of the UK High Court ruling which rejected all of Qatar's requests for injunctions," the planemaker said in a statement. "Airbus continues to favour engagement and an amicable solution to resolve the dispute," it added.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker told reporters in Doha last week, "I just hope that this dispute could be resolved outside the courts of law".

ALSO READ - Airbus responds to Qatar Airways’s A350 dispute by cancelling A321 Order

“Qatar Airways remains within its contractual rights to reject delivery of further A350 aircraft whilst the aircraft type suffers from a design defect which has now been acknowledged by the court, and for Airbus to abuse its strength in the market to terminate a separate and unrelated contract for another aircraft type is extremely damaging for our industry."Qatar Airways

The carrier also said it was “extremely concerned” about the precedent being set by Airbus in cancelling the A321 contract.  

ALSO READ - UK court orders Airbus to halt the cancellation of Qatar Airways’ A321neo

Barring a settlement, which the judge last week described as unlikely for the time being, the two sides are heading for a rare London court clash starting in June 2023.

(With Inputs from Reuters)

Buoyed by a strong recovery in travel demand in the Indian market, Singapore Airlines plans to increase the number of flights to India where the group is currently operating at around 75% of its pre-pandemic capacity.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group — comprising full-service carrier Singapore Airlines and low-cost airline Scoot — currently serves 13 destinations across India.

"The Indian market is recovering very strongly as well. We are seeing good load factors… we will be able to hopefully announce increases in flights over the next two schedules… whether it is for the winter schedule starting from October or even for next year."Lee Lik Hsin, Executive Vice President (Commercial), Singapore Airlines

On Monday, May 30 a senior Singapore Airlines executive said the carrier expects to announce more flights to India in the coming months.

At present, Singapore Airlines operates 73 weekly flights to Singapore from eight Indian cities — Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi and Hyderabad. Scoot operates 38 flights from six cities — Amritsar, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Tiruchirappalli, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group — comprising full-service carrier Singapore Airlines and low-cost airline Scoot — currently serves 13 destinations across India.

ALSO READ - Scoot commences daily flights between Thiruvananthapuram and Singapore

According to an airline spokesperson, SIA Group is currently operating around 75% of its pre-COVID capacity.

After remaining suspended for a little over two years, scheduled commercial international passenger flights resumed to and from India on March 27 this year. Since then, there has been a strong demand for air travel.

The Singapore Airlines spokesperson said market feedback indicates that the current outbound traffic from India comprises primarily pent-up leisure traffic, while business travel will take longer to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Singapore Airlines intends to increase flights to India amid strong travel recovery

ALSO READ - Singapore Airlines resume services from Mumbai with Airbus A380 jumbo

Apart from resuming Airbus A380 plane services from Mumbai and Delhi, the airline in January launched its new Boeing 737-8 product from Hyderabad, Kochi, and Kolkata. This includes seats that recline into fully-flat beds in the business class.

Talking about overall travel demand, Lee Lik Hsin said there is a "very speedy recovery phase we are seeing right now”.

"We will put in a capacity of 61% by the end of June, 67% by the end of September… very very strong load factors for April,” he added. In April, SIA Group’s load factor rose 18%.

At present, Singapore Airlines operates 73 weekly flights to Singapore from eight Indian cities

To another query, Lee Lik Hsin said the rise in fuel costs is a concern for any airline. ”We try to exercise as much cost discipline as we can on other aspects in our control.

Fuel is one aspect that we do not control. We are hedged for this current year at 40%. We have some protection to that extent but the rest is (up to) market forces,” he noted.

On whether there could be a hike in fares considering the rising fuel prices, he said fares are a function of demand and supply.

The aviation regulator DGCA has imposed a fine of INR 10 lakh on SpiceJet for training its Boeing 737 Max aircraft's pilots on a faulty simulator as it could have adversely impacted flight safety, sources said on Monday, May 30.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had last month barred 90 SpiceJet pilots at a faulty facility at CAE Simulation Training Pvt Ltd (CSTPL), Greater Noida on March 30 from operating the Max aircraft after finding them not properly trained.

ALSO READ - 90 SpiceJet pilots barred from flying Boeing 737 Max planes by the DGCA

DGCA fines SpiceJet with INR 10 lakh for using the faulty simulator to train B737 Max pilots

After barring the pilots, the regulator had issued a show-cause notice to the airline, sources told PTI. The response sent by the airline was not found satisfactory.

"The training being imparted by the airline could have adversely affected flight safety and hence was nullified," one of the sources stated.

Therefore, the DGCA has imposed a penalty of INR 10 lakh on SpiceJet for using a faulty simulator to train their Max aircraft's pilots, sources mentioned.

Boeing was still in the process of installing its new updated MCAS system at the Noida training facility when the SpiceJet pilots were sent for training.

According to a senior DGCA official, when the 90 pilots were sent for training at the CAE Simulation Training Pvt Ltd in Noida, the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) was not working properly on the simulator.

“A part of the MCAS system, the ‘stick shaker’ that vibrates the control column and makes a loud noise when the jet risks losing lift, was not working properly in the simulator at the time of training these pilots,” the official said.

Another industry insider aware of the matter said that at the time of training, Boeing was still in the process of installing its new updated MCAS system at the Noida training facility when the SpiceJet pilots were sent for training.

Boeing had opened this facility in 2020 for training pilots to operate the 737 Max. CSTPL has only approved the 737 MAX simulators in India.

This was installed by Boeing as part of a compensation package provided to SpiceJet due to the business loss caused by the two-year grounding of the aircraft.

Scheduled surveillance checks and surprise audits are done by the regulator to find inefficiencies in the safety system of airlines, airports, flying training organisations and simulators to find deficiencies and implement corrective measures.

SpiceJet is the only Indian airline that has the Max aircraft in its fleet.

The system was dysfunctional since March 17 due to a faulty component that CSTPL imports from abroad. Hence, all co-pilots who have done simulator training will have to undergo the extra two hours of training once again.

The DGCA official added that proper pilot training was part of the aviation regulator’s conditions for lifting the ban on the Boeing 737 Max in India after the planes were grounded in India on March 13, 2019, following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max aircraft near Addis Ababa.

Almost a year before the Ethiopian Airlines crash, a  Lion Air Flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang also had crashed.

The ban on the planes was lifted in August 2021 after the DGCA was satisfied with the software upgrade implemented by Boeing in each of the Max aircraft.

ALSO READ – DGCA allows Boeing 737 Max to fly again

The ban on the planes was lifted in August 2021 after the DGCA was satisfied with the software upgrade implemented by Boeing in each of the Max aircraft. SpiceJet is the only Indian airline that has the Max aircraft in its fleet.

Akasa Air, the new airline backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation veterans Aditya Ghosh and Vinay Dube, had in November last year signed a deal with Boeing to purchase 72 Max planes. Akasa Air has not received any of these planes as yet.

Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended an air traffic controller for three months for approving simultaneous departures of IndiGo flights at the Bengaluru airport on January 7 which led to them coming too close just after takeoff.

The two IndiGo flights -- 6E455 (Bengaluru to Kolkata) and 6E246 (Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar) -- averted a mid-air collision over the Bengaluru airport just after their simultaneous take off from the north runway and south runway, respectively, on January 7 morning.

DGCA suspends ATC for 3 months for near-miss mid-air collision between two Indigo flights

ALSO READ - At Bengaluru Airport, a mid-air collision between two Indigo flights averted

The incident was called "breach of separation", which happens when two aircraft cross the minimum mandatory vertical or horizontal distance in the airspace.

In a statement on Monday, May 30 the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, "South tower controller gave departure to 6E 455 in coordination with Approach Radar controller and at the same time North tower controller gave departure to 6E 246 without prior coordination with south tower controller and Approach Radar controller."

The suspended controller has been charged with five counts

As both aircraft after departure were on converging heading (moving towards each other), the Approach Radar controller gave diverging heading to separate these aircraft, the regulator noted.

"At the closest point of conflict, the vertical and lateral separation between both aircraft was 100 feet (Standard 1000ft) and 0.9 NM (Standard 3NM)," it said. This entire matter was classified as a "serious incident" and was investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), it noted.

Based on the regulatory assessment, the DGCA has decided to issue a "warning letter to Tower supervisor for not monitoring the activities of the ATC (air traffic controller) tower and non-reporting of the incident", it said.

The two IndiGo flights -- 6E455 (Bengaluru to Kolkata) and 6E246 (Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar) -- averted a mid-air collision over the Bengaluru airport just after their simultaneous take off from the north runway and south runway

Also, the license of the "North tower controller who was also the watch supervisory officer (WSO) of the shift" has been suspended for three months as he did not follow procedures and rules regarding runway operations and he did not report the incident, the DGCA said.

The suspended controller has been charged with five counts, including not reporting the incident, violating the Aeronautical Information Publication (details of regulations, procedures) India for aircraft operation and failing to comply with coordination procedures during the change of runway operations from segregated mode to single mode.

Airbus has confirmed its plans of launching a Zero Emissions Development Centre (ZEDC), to be located in Bristol, that will support the airline’s plans to operate hydrogen-powered passenger aircraft prototypes.

The goal of the ZEDC is to achieve cost-competitive cryogenic tank manufacturing to support the successful future market launch of ZEROe and to accelerate the development of hydrogen-propulsion technologies.

The Airbus eXtra Performance Wing demonstrator on a CessnaCitation VII business jet platform | Representative | travelnewsasia

The ZEDC, which will be installed in Filton, Bristol, will be used to design and manufacture components for zero-emission flight technologies, with a specific focus on hydrogen. Reportedly, the facility is touted to develop cost-competitive cryogenic fuel systems, required for its ZEROe passenger aircraft by 2035. Additionally, it will also serve the dual purpose of accelerating UK skills in hydrogen-propulsion technology.

The tank is a safety-critical component, for which specific systems engineering is needed.

Establishing the ZEDC in the UK expands Airbus’ in-house industrial capabilities to design, develop, test and manufacture cryogenic hydrogen storage tanks and related systems for the ZEROe project across Airbus’ four home countries. This, coupled with our partnership with ATI, will allow us to leverage our respective expertise to realise the potential of hydrogen technology to support the decarbonization of the aviation industryAirbus’ chief technical officer Sabine Klauke said

The Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), back in September 2021, had identified liquid hydrogen as having ‘the highest potential’ as the future fuel in the aviation sector although it came with its own set of challenges with regards to surrounding storage and utilising cryogenic hydrogen on board. Furthermore, it also emphasized that liquid hydrogen had more potential when compared to battery and ammonia in aviation.

Representative | Composites World

LH2 can be more challenging than kerosene because it needs to be stored at -250 °C to liquefy-which is needed for increased density.

It was way back in 2020 that Airbus had first unveiled its futuristic designs for zero-emissions aircraft. The company also signed a partnership agreement earlier this year with CFM International-a 50/50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines, to collaborate on a hydrogen demonstration programme that will take flight around the middle of this decade.

While both ground and flight tests will be issued for hydrogen-fueled direct combustion engines, the demonstration will use the A380 flight testbed with liquid hydrogen tanks prepared at Airbus facilities in France and Germany.

This is the most significant step undertaken at Airbus to usher in a new era of hydrogen-powered flight since the unveiling of our ZEROe concepts back in September 2020. By leveraging the expertise of American and European engine manufacturers to make progress on hydrogen combustion technology, this international partnership sends a clear message that our industry is committed to making zero-emission flight a realitysaid Sabine Klauke

All three ZEROe concepts are hybrid-hydrogen aircraft.

Reportedly, Delta has become the first US-based airline to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus, as a part of the latter's efforts to commercialise the use of hydrogen for aircraft.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Wings Magazine