New Delhi: The long wait for Rafale fighter jets is finally over with first batch of 5 jets, out of 36 purchased by Indian, arriving in Ambala on Wednesday.
The induction of Rafale jets in Indian Air Force fleet will give a much-needed boost to its firepower and will significantly enhance its capability to counter the Chinese threat.
The arrival of Rafale jets comes amid escalating border tension between India and China along the Line of Actual Control. Although China’s air fleet is considered superior to India, the induction of Rafale will be instrumental in enhancing IAF’s capability. With proven track record, Rafale will prove to enemy’s nemesis in case of any eventuality.
‘Rafale a gamechanger, Chinese J-20 no match to Rafale’
Rafale is a 4.5 generation aircraft. China claims its J-20 is a 5th generation aircraft. But, experts and former Air chiefs flatly reject its claims.
“Rafale is far superior to the J 20, the Chengdu fighter of China. It’s got a third-generation engine as we have in the Sukhoi,” says Air Marshal R Nambiar (retd), who flight-tested the Rafale fighter jets for India.
“The J-20 uses the same engine as Russian jet Su30. But, the Rafale engine is better in terms of reliability, longevity and maintainability. It can lift load up to 1.5 times its weight, which means it can carry weapons and fuel much more capacity than the J-20,” he said.
Former Air Chief Marshal B. S. Dhanoa, the chief architect of Balakot air strikes in Pakistan, told a leading daily that Rafale with its top of the line electronic warfare suite, Meteor beyond visual range missile and with its terrain following capability outguns any threat that the Chinese Air Force produces.
Rafale specifications, which make it more lethal
Name of aircraft: RAFALE
Type of aircraft: Twin engine, multi-role fighter
Designed & manufactured by: Dassault Aviation
Country of origin: France
Users: French Air Force, Qatar Air Force, Egyptian Air Force, Indian Air Force
• Wing span: 10.90 m
• Length: 15.30 m
• Height: 5.30 m
• Overall empty weight: 10 tonnes
• External load: 9.5 tonnes
• Max. take-off weight: 24.5 tonnes
• Fuel (internal): 4.7 tonnes
• Fuel (external): up to 6.7 tonnes
• Ferry Range: 3,700 km
• Top Speed: 1.8 Mach at high altitude
• Landing ground run: 450 m (1,500 ft)
• Service ceiling: 50,000 ft
Total Number Ordered (India): 36 jets ordered in September 2016 Value of order: USD 9.4 billion approximately
Order completion by: 2022
What makes Rafale Weapon Systems superior
The Rafale has been cleared to operate the following weapons:
• The MICA air-to-air “Beyond Visual Range” (BVR) interception, combat and self- defence missiles, in their IR (heat-seeking) and EM (active radar homing) The MICA can be used within visual range (WVR) and beyond visual range (BVR).
• The METEOR very long-range air-to-air missile, The METEOR very long-range rocket and ram-jet powered air-to-air EM missile. Its combination with the Rafale weapon system is a real paradigm change in air to air affairs.
• The HAMMER (standing for Highly Agile and Manoeuvrable Munition Extended Range) modular, rocket-boosted air-to-ground precision guided weapon series, fitted with INS/GPS or INS/GPS/IIR (imaging infra-red) guidance kits, or with the upcoming INS/GPS/laser guidance
• The SCALP long-range stand-off missile,
• The AM39 EXOCET anti-ship missile,
• Laser-guided bombs with different warheads from 500lbs to 2,000 lbs
• Classic bombs non guided
• The 2500 rounds/min NEXTER 30M791 30 mm internal cannon, available on both single and two-seaters
Where does Chinese Chengdu J-20 stand
* Chengdu J20 (Mighty Dragon) – Twin-engine, stealth, fifth-generation fighter jet.
* It is used only by the PLA Air Force. No other country in the world uses this platform.
*Platform specifications are opaque and have not been evaluated by neutral third parties.
*Untested in combat.
*Shenyang J-11 is a twin engine fighter jet based on the Sukhoi Su-27 platform.
About Pakistani JF-17
*JF17 (Thunder) is a single engine multi-role fighter based on the Chengdu platform. It is not comparable to Rafale.
Rafale experienced aircraft, Chinese J20 a novice
Another big difference is the battle experience. Rafale is an extremely experienced aircraft, used widely in war missions in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. The J20 has no such experience. Last-minute additions to Rafale, including HAMMER, meteor, MICA and scalp missiles give it dominance over skies and superiority over the J20.
Countries where Rafale took part in war missions
– Afghanistan
– Libya
– Mali
– Chad
– Central African Republic
– Iraq
Syria
How IAF is getting battle-ready for two-front war
Indian Air Force has a sanctioned strength (the number which should be operational to meet threats) of 42 squadrons. Each squadron has 16-18 aircraft. Due to government policies in the past 30 years, it has reduced to 30 squadrons. With the phasing out of the MiG 21 fighters, this number is expected to reduce further. This puts India’s national security at considerable risk.
Indian Air Force is taking these following steps to mitigate this problem and become operationally ready for a two-front war:
# Rs.38,900 crore defence deal approved for procurement of 21 MiG-29 and 12 Su-30MKI (Sukhoi) fighter jets. This deal also includes upgradation of 59 existing MiG-29 jets. All weapons platforms are Russian in origin.
# IAF currently has one squadron of LCA is initial operational configuration (IOC) and in May 2020, it constituted the second LCA squadron with one aircraft in the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) configuration. IAF will receive 20 IOC and 20 FOC aircraft in all. Eventually, IAF is likely to operate 123 LCA including 83 Mk-1A aircraft.
# LCA Mk-2 is currently under development. It is an advanced and more capable/larger version of Mk-1 and the IAF has expressed its keenness to add this aircraft to its fast depleting strength.
# In addition, there is a global tender for 114 fighter jets which will, on award of tender, be manufactured in India with a local partner and under ToT (transfer of technology).
