Aircraft

The Indian air force has launched a nine-month flight evaluation phase for the six competitors vying for the $11 billion medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract.

Two Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets and an aerial refueller arrived at Bangalore airport to complete the first of three location trials.

"We're very happy to be invited to the trials and to showcase the F/A-18E/F's capabilities," says Boeing

The F/A-18Fs will be followed in the trials by the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-16IN, Saab Gripen IN and RSK MiG MiG-35, although the order has not been released.

India issued the request for proposals for the MMRCA deal in August 2007. The highly valued order for 126 fighters includes an order for 18 fly-away aircraft, with the rest produced domestically by Hindustan Aeronautics.

Two more flight evaluations will reportedly be conducted at Jaisalmer and Leh for hot and cold weather testing, respectively.