Now that's interesting.
"F/A-18 Super Hornet Is Now Undergoing Ski Jump Launch Trials For The Indian Navy"
LINK to article.
Article also yields an interesting picture of an F/A-18 "Legacy" Hornet undergoing ski-jump trials in the late 1980s.
I know this picture well
ChernayaAkula and was always fascinated as to the reason for its trial (as in who was the potential customer that may have wanted a ski-jump capable Hornet, let alone who was intending to build a STOBAR carrier of the period? Or was it the USMC that might have been toying with the notion of land-based ski-jump assisted take off???)
I'm also wondering if the trial extended to greater angles of the ski-jump, as it appears to be quite a shallow angle (I think from memory the given ski-jump is 6% or 9%)
Ah, yes, with a quick check on the net, I found this:
When a ski-jump with a 9 degree exit angle is used, the takeoff roll of an F/A-18 Hornet can be cut in half
I'm guessing the USN must have flirted with the notion of ski-jump operations at some time, for the even trialed the Grumman F-14 Tomcat take off's......
MAD