Friday

14


August , 2020
What does the future hold for the Rafale aircraft?
13:22 pm

Aniket Panja


 

Border tensions with China, flare ups with Pakistan, need for strengthening the air force and a battle between two governments - amidst all the turmoil, five Rafale jets have arrived in India. The jets are a part of 36 aircrafts that India will receive from France from a deal struck between the two countries way back in 2016. The main purpose of the deal is to modernise the Soviet era Indian fleet that is currently with the air force. The Rafale jets present India with a chance for conducting multi-purpose operations and one cannot help but wonder that the first batch of aircrafts could not have arrived at a more opportune moment when border relations with China have taken a hit.

But Air Marshal (retd.) Pranab Kumar Barbora has a word of caution. He stated, “But it will take a while before these aircrafts are fully operational. You have to set up a logistics chain, train technical and ground staff in India.”

It will take a minimum of 18 aircrafts to make the squadron fully operational, which could take up to two years. So, even if there are escalations along the border with either Pakistan or China, India will not be able to use its newest addition to the air force. 

The Rafale is a multi-role aircraft, which can carry out long-range missions, including highly accurate sea and ground attacks. Now, in case India is locked in a two-pronged battle with China and Pakistan, the ideal scenario would require 42 squadrons but in the current situation, India has only 31.

So, what makes this important? It can carry out numerous missions in a single trip and is much ahead of Pakistan's F-16 jets and China's JF-20, thereby giving India a significant advantage in air combat. The Rafale has already been deployed in conflict prone areas like Afghanistan, Mali, Libya, Iraq and Syria and has onboard the over `20-crore worth Meteor air-to-air missile.

Keeping in mind 5th generation warfare, India has decided to incorporate the aircraft with specific enhancements. These enhancements include Israeli helmet-mounted display and ability to start in very cold and high-altitude areas like Leh.

The Rafale is fitted with 14 hard points and five of those can be used for dropping tanks or other artillery. Most importantly, India will have a significant advantage in aerial warfare due to its 150 km range with a zero escape kill distance of 120 km. This means that even without crossing the border, India possess the ability to take out enemy aircraft; something neither China nor Pakistan are currently able to do.

Moreover, it can also be tuned for nuclear warfare and the aircraft can carry as much as its own weight. But why did it take so long for the first batch of aircrafts to arrive, considering that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been in need of an upgrade for some time now?

Negotiations for the aircrafts started way back in 2000 and has switched hands between four governments before finally being penned down. Needless to say, there have been a lot of changes. The Congress had wanted to acquire 126 aircrafts but the BJP government has brought down the number to 36 and according to some, at a higher price as well. 

While Rahul Gandhi didn't mince his words in calling the deal a scam, the ruling BJP government insists that it has saved a substantial money on the deal. The reasoning behind purchasing 36 jets in ‘fly-away’ condition was that the central government wants to get the air force back to its optimum strength as quickly as possible. 

There are also reports stating that since this is primarily a government-to-government deal between the two countries, the price per aircraft has risen by 41.42%. However, the BJP government has refused to disclose the actual cost but it is believed that the €1.3 billion was required for the ‘design and development’ of 13 India Specific Enhancements (ISE) and the distribution of this ‘non-recurring cost’ over 36 aircrafts has led to the increase in price.

The Indian Air Force had announced in 2018 that it would seek bids for around 110 more fighter jets and it remains to be seen how India procures the remaining aircrafts. For now, the government seems to be reveling in the fact that the Rafale is the finest aircraft in the world. Perhaps the situation was best summed up by Air Chief Marshal (retd.) Arup Raha when he said, “The Rafale jets will increase the deterrence value. It is to basically deter our adversaries and say that we will respond if you get on our wrong side.”

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