July 11, 200520 yr Navy favours F-35 fighters, not F-18: Naval Chief July 11, 2005 02:45:00 PM .KOLKATA CAL6 Press Trust of India Kolkata, Jul 11 (PTI) Indian Navy is willing to procure F-35 advanced fighters from US, but it is not interested in F-18 fighter planes as they are not "compatible" with the aircraft carriers of the naval force, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash said here today. "Yes. Given an offer, we will be much interested in having the F-35 fighters," Admiral Prakash told reporters when asked if the Navy would be willing to procure the advanced fighters from the US. He was speaking to reporters after the commissioning of warship INS Beas at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. Admiral Prakash said that the F-18 aircraft, being offered by the US to Indian armed forces, would not be relevant for the Navy. "F-18 is a carrier-borne aircraft, but needs steam catapult (for take-off). It is not compatible to ski-jump and therefore, not suitable for our type of aircraft carriers," he said. On the other hand the F-35 aircraft were of the ski-jump type and would be suitable for the Navy's aircraft carriers, he explained. PTI
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