The first batch of 5 Rafale fighters (3 single and a couple of twin-seat) has landed at the Ambala airbase. The fighter jets were escorted by two Sukhoi Su 30MKI as they entered the Indian airspace and were greeted by an Indian Navy warship, INS Kolkata, deployed within the western Arabian Sea. Rafale flown by Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots, reached India after covering a distance of 7,000 km or about 4,350 miles with air-to-air refueling and one stop in the United Arab Emirates.
They will officially be inducted into the Golden Arrows No 17 squadron of the IAF. India’s contract for 36 Rafale fighters features a cost of around $8.721 billion and it’s alleged to receive all the jets by 2022. In this article, Defense Talks analyze why India’s French-made Rafale will actually be a nightmare for Pakistan & China? Let’s get into the details.
OVERVIEW AND CAPABILITIES
The Dassault Rafale may be a French twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole fighter equipped with a good range of weapons. Rafale literally meaning “gust of wind”, and “burst of fire” during a more military sense. It is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and deterrence missions.
The Rafale is mentioned as an “omnirole” aircraft by Dassault. The aircraft is out there in three main variants: Rafale C single-seat land-based version, Rafale B twin-seat land-based version, and Rafale M single-seat carrier-based version. Rafale is one of the most sophisticated 4.5 generation fighters and is very close to a 5th generation one.
- The capabilities are as follows: 1The Rafale is fitted with two Snecma M88 engines, each capable of providing up to 50 kilonewtons (11,000 pounds-force) of dry thrust and 75 kN (17,000 pounds-force) with afterburners. This enables the jet to supercruise at Mach 1.4.
- The thrust to weight ratio one of the best in the category — similar to Eurofighter Typhoon but better than F 35s. This makes it an excellent dogfighter.
- It has sensor fusion — that is unlike a typical 4th generation fighter and more like a 5th generation one — Rafale has the ability to process all the data from different sensors and present it in single a screen enabling the pilot enabling take quick and accurate actions. read more
