French Rafale M edges out American F/A-18 in Indian Navy fighter contestThe Indian Air Force already operates two squadrons of the Rafale fighter, and if the navy also orders the maritime version of the same fighter, there will be commonality of spares and maintenance, said an officialThe French Rafale M fighter has edged out the American F/A-18 Super Hornet in a direct competition to equip the Indian Navy with 26 new deck-based fighters for the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday.The navy has submitted the trial reports of the two fighters to the defence ministry, and it is now for the government to take a final call on the government-to-government deal to meet the navy’s requirements, said one of the officials cited above, asking not to be named.The navy is working with the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and Aeronautical Development Agency on the TEDBF project.Like INS Vikramaditya, the fighters on board INS Vikrant will also use the ski-jump to take off and will be recovered by arrestor wires or what is known as STOBAR (short takeoff but arrested recovery) in navy parlance.Boeing had earlier anticipated economic benefits of $3.6 billion to the Indian economy over 10 years if the Super Hornet was selected as the navy’s next carrier-based fighter, with continued investments in manufacturing, engineering and technology transfer, infrastructure, sustainment and training and skilling."