New Rafale Jets Fly Out of France, Arrival in India on July 29

A new batch of five Rafale jets fly out of France on Monday to join the growing Indian fleet of aircraft and are scheduled to arrive in the country two days later. The aircraft will be refuelled by French Air Force tanker aircraft on their way to an airbase in the UAE before leaving for India.

All you need to know:

• The three twin-seat and two single-seat Rafales will touch down at the Ambala air base, in Haryana, on July 29.
• The Rafale aircraft will cover the distance of 7,000 km from France to India with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop en route in UAE.
• The jets will be armed with deadly weapons, advanced avionics, radars, electronic warfare systems and self-protection suites to ensure superior survivability in hostile contested airspaces.
• The Rafales will be combat-deployable when they arrive at Ambala, capable of firing its over 300 km range Scalp air-to-ground cruise missiles and other weapons.
• European missile maker MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile will also be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets. Meteor is the next generation of BVR air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat. The integration of the 120-150 km range missiles will take some time.
• The Rafales will also be equipped with MICA weapon system which is integrated into IAF’s Mirage 2000 aircraft.
• The jets will have a combat range of 780-km to 1,650-km depending on the mission.
• They will have 13 ‘India-specific enhancements’ such as radar enhancements, Israeli helmet-mounted displays, low-band jammers, ‘cold start’ capability from high-altitude regions, 10-hour flight data recording, infrared search and tracking systems.
• These enhancements will become fully operational after ‘software certification’.
• India’s ambassador to France Jawed Ashraf who was there to see-off the Rafale aircraft, said that the long awaited and much-needed two squadrons of Rafale would add great strength to IAF and defence capabilities. He met the IAF pilots and wished them a safe flight to India.
• French defence major Dassault Aviation, the company which manufactures Rafale, has since October 2019 handed over a total of ten aircraft to the IAF. Five will stay back in France for training mission. The ceremony of the first handover was attended by the French minister for armed forces Madame Florence Parly and the Indian Defence minister Rajnath Singh.
• In September 2016, the Indian government had placed an order of 36 Rafale jets with Dassault Aviation in a deal worth Rs 59,000 crore. The delivery of all 36 aircraft will be completed as per schedule by the end of 2021.
• In accordance with the contract, Indian Air Force pilots and supporting personnel have been provided full training on aircraft and weapon systems by Dassault. At least 12 IAF pilots have been trained in operating Rafale. Further batches of IAF pilots will continue training over the next nine months.
• In a gesture of friendship, government of France will send an aircraft with medical equipment and experts on July 26 to support India’s efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: ToI