ISLAMABAD – There is nothing equivalent to the Rafale in Pakistan, retiredAir Marshal M. Matheswaran told IANS on Tuesday. Defence Minister RajnathSingh will receive first of the 36 Rafale jets in France on Tuesday. Rafalehas the most advanced weapons package comprising Meteor and Scalp missilesthat will provide India unrivalled deep strike capability and air dominancein the region.
“Pakistan has the multi-role F-16 in its inventory. But it is only as goodas the Mirage 2000 of India. There is nothing equivalent to the Rafale inPakistan,” retired Air Marshal M. Matheswaran told IANS.
The upgraded version of the Mirage and the Sukhoi 30 can at best reach upto the category of fourth-generation fighters. The indigenously developedLight Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas can be categorised as fourth-generationin terms of avionics and technology but it is too small an aircraft to makea difference.
India will only be the fourth country, after France, Egypt and Qatar, tofly the Rafale. But the Rafale cannot be compared with the J-20, anindigenously developed fifth-generation aircraft of China.
The J-20 is soon set to be inducted in large numbers into the People’sLiberation Army Air Force of China after it was successfully developed anddisplayed, said defence sources. The Hong Kong-based English languagenewspaper South China Morning Post had reported, quoting the Chinese statemedia, as far back as March 2017 that the PLAAF had inducted the lateststealth fighter J-20.
Besides, China already has over 600 4 to 4.5 generation fighter jets in itsair force.
“We have the capability to defend ourselves. But capabilities also includea lot of strategic issues in the global system. The differentials are toomuch between India and China as far as air power is concerned,” added AirMarshal Matheswaran.Advertisement
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As per defence experts, with its J-20, China is eyeing to compete with theUS, which boasts of fifth-generation fighter jets including F-22 and F-35manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
India’s mega deal with Russia to develop a fifth-generation aircraft, whichcould have put it in the same league as US and China, fell off in 2018amidst uncertainties. There is no decision yet on whether fifth-generationaircraft will be purchased off the shelf even as the IAF is short of atleast 10 to 12 squadrons of fighter jets.
With both the Bison and non-Bison versions of the MiG 21 also set to bedecommissioned soon, the IAF has claimed that it is fully committed todeveloping the indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) asreplacement. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria had said in New Delhi last weekthat “there is no question of imports whatsoever in the foreseeable future”.
“The AMCA is a development project and it will be several years before itactually takes off. The project is still on the drawing board. India willhave to have a long-term partnership with any leading company of the worldin order to develop the AMCA. The partner is not chosen yet,” said a topIAF official, on condition of anonymity.
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