Announcing that the Royal Australian Air Force had yesterday become the launch customer for the aircraft, senior officers of the US aerospace major said the company was in talks with governments of Kuwait, Switzerland and Malaysia for selling the Super Hornets.

"The total costs are designed keeping in mind the life-cycle costs of the aircraft," Boeing IDS Vice President and Country Head Anil Shrikhande told reporters.

He and Chris Chadwick, the company's global communication head, said F-18s had been designed to last till 2025-30 and were fitted with very modern and sophisticated sensor package and armaments.

In reply to questions, both said they were not aware of any thinking in India about splitting the 126 aircraft order between two kinds of aircraft and said it would not be militarily and financially viable to have different war planes.

If selected, the first 18 F-18 Super Hornets would be produced and flown in and the remaining ones co-produced with Indian companies. In the long-run, Indian aerospace industry would have the capability to offer these aircraft to third countries, Chadwick said.

Shrikhande said Boeing's response to Indian Navy's Request for Proposal (RFP) for P-8 fighters had been accepted and the US firm had moved into the second phase of the selection process and submitted field evolution plan to the navy for further trials.