Why the Rafale buy matters
India Today
The IAF needs the 114 jets to bolster its falling squadron numbers— it has just 29 fighter squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 42, even as adversaries Pakistan and China are bolstering their air forces.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives for a significant three-day state visit to New Delhi beginning February 17. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold discussions on strengthening bilateral cooperation across a wide spectrum covered in the India–France Strategic Partnership. A key component of this partnership is a mammoth 40 billion USD (Rs 3.5 lakh crore) government-to-government deal for India to buy 114 Rafale fighter jets which both countries will ink over the next few months.
The IAF needs the 114 jets to bolster its falling squadron numbers— it has just 29 fighter squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 42, even as adversaries Pakistan and China are bolstering their air forces. Pakistan has 25 fighter squadrons and China has over 60 and is adding close to 200 fourth and fifth generation fighter jets each year.
Delays in the delivery of the homegrown LCA Tejas fighter jets built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) have necessitated this massive import.
The IAF operates 36 Rafales bought in 2016 and last year, the Indian Navy purchased 26 naval variants of the Rafale for its aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
The Rafale has an unrefuelled range of 1,800 km and can carry around 9 tons of ordnance on 14 hard points— that’s equal to the weight of two MiG-21 jets.
The multirole jet can be used for air superiority, deep penetration and strike aircraft, a reconnaissance platform, suppression / destruction of enemy air defence (SEAD/DEAD) missions, maritime strike and nuclear weapons delivery. Its makers Dassault boast it can segue between these missions at the flick of a button.
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