Rafale Fighter Jets Land In India Today

The first team of five Rafale fighter jets that land in Ambala on Wednesday morning will resurrect the Number 17 Golden Arrows squadron of the Indian Air Force. It will take the IAF’s squadron strength to 31.

The fighters were given a water salute upon landing at the airbase. The fighter jets arrived in India after a 7,000-km flight from France which included an overnight pit stop in UAE and mid-air refueling.

When all the 36 Rafale jets are delivered by 2022, it will take it to 32 squadrons, still well below the 42 squadrons of the sanctioned number.

The state-of-the-art 4.5 Generation Rafale jet can reach almost double the speed of sound, with a top speed of 1.8 Mach.

With its multi-role capabilities, including electronic warfare, air defense, ground support, and in-depth strikes.

The Rafale lends air superiority to the Indian Air Force.

Comparison with other fighter jets

While China’s J20 Chengdu jets are called fifth-generation combat jets, compared to 4.5 generation Rafale, the J20 have no actual combat experience. Whereas the Rafale is combat proven, having been used by the French Air Force for its missions in Afghanistan, Libya, and Mali. It has also been used for missions in the Central African Republic, Iraq, and Syria. Rafale can also carry more fuel and weapons than the J20.

Each aircraft has 14 storage stations for weapons. The jets come with one of the most advanced Meteor air-to-air missiles. The 190-kg missile has a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) of over 100 km, traveling at a top speed of Mach 4. The F16 jets, used by Pakistan, carry the AMRAAM missile, which has a BVR of 75 km. Rafale can also outperform F16 in dogfights.

The Rafale jets also come with SCALP, the air-to-ground cruise missile with a range over 300 km. It is a long-range deep strike missile.

The MICA air-to-air missile on Rafale is for both, close-quarter dogfights, and for BVR. At the last-minute, India has also asked for HAMMER (Highly Agile and Manoeuvrable Munition Extended Range), which is an air-to-ground precision guided missile produced by French conglomerate Safran, and can be used against bunker-type hardened targets within the range of 70 km.

The jets entered Indian airspace on Wednesday afternoon.