NEW DELHI: In a first India accepts PAF air superiority in Post Balakotscenario, seek urgent help from France and Israel.
India has asked France to arm the first four Rafale fighters with thetop-notch Meteor air-to-air missiles, which, with a strike range of 120 to150-km, can outgun any missile that can be unleashed by Pakistani orChinese jets. The first Rafale fighters will touch down at the Ambalaairbase in May next year.
The request for at least 8-10 Meteor beyond visual range (BVR) missiles tobe delivered with the four Rafale jets was conveyed to France duringdefence minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to the country+ to formally acceptthe first fighter at Merignac in the Bordeaux region on October 8.
“Earlier, as per the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked for 36 Rafale jets andtheir weapon packages in September 2016, the progressive deliveries of theMeteor and the over 300-km range Scalp air-to-ground cruise missiles wereto begin several months later,” said a source.
“But given the current operational situation with Pakistan, India has askedfor faster delivery of at least 8-10 Meteor missiles. France is examiningthe request,” he added.
The request comes in the backdrop of the aerial skirmish between Indian andPakistani fighters+ in the Nowshera sector along the Line of Control onFebruary 27, a day after the bombing of the JeM facility in Pakistan. TheSukhoi-30MKIs and other jets, scrambled to intercept the incoming Pakistanifighters, had found it difficult to engage the F-16s at long ranges on thatday, which also saw Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 being shotdown, as was earlier reported by TOI.
The Pakistani F-16s were armed with the AIM-120C advanced medium-rangeair-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs), which have a range of about 100-km, and hadlet loose several of them at the Sukhoi-30MKIs before the latter could evenget into their firing range.
IAF says the operational dynamics for achieving “air dominance” will changewith the induction of the Rafales armed with the greater-range Meteormissiles powered by Ramjet engines to fly at Mach 4 speed. The Meteormissiles are arguably the best in the world for air combat duels, with “agreater no-escape zone” for hostile fighters than any comparable BVRweapon. Pakistan and China do not currently have any missile of this classin their combat inventories.
During the defence ministerial dialogue in October, France also offeredIndian experts an opportunity to check the performance of the omni-roleRafale jets, which can also deliver nuclear weapons if required, “in anenvironment of high temperatures” at its military base in UAE.
An IAF induction team of pilots, engineers and technicians is currentlyundergoing training in France, which has so far handed over three Rafalesto India. Once this training is over, the first four Rafales will head forIndia in May 2020. All the 36 jets will arrive in India by April 2022, with18 each to be deployed at the Ambala and Hasimara airbases for the westernand eastern fronts with Pakistan and China.
The Rafales, with a combat range of 780-km to 1,650-km depending onmission, come armed with a deadly weapons package, advanced avionics,radars and electronic warfare systems to prevent jamming by adversaries andensure superior survivability in hostile contested airspace. Each Rafale,for instance, can also carry two fire-and-forget Scalp cruise missiles tohit high-value fortified targets well over 300-km away.
But the 13 India-Specific Enhancements (ISEs) or upgrades on the 36 Rafaleswill become fully operational only by October 2022 after undergoing“software certification” after all the jets have arrived in India. Theupgrades range from radar enhancements, Israeli helmet-mounted displays andlow-band jammers to towed decoy systems, 10-hour flight data recording andengine capability for “cold start” from high-altitude regions like Ladakh.
They also include Israeli litening pods for target acquisition and guidancekits for Spice precision-guided munitions, which were used to bomb the JeMfacility at Balakot on February 26, Times of India has reported.