ISLMABAD – India’s controversial acquisition of the French Dassault Rafalemedium weight multirole fighter, which has mired Prime Minister NarendraModi’s BJP government in a serious corruption scandallinkduein part to the extreme costslinkofthe platforms, has reportedly been undermined by recent reports thatPakistani pilots were given access to the aircraft and trained to operatethem in France.
While the primary pretextlinkforRafale acquisition has been to counter Pakistan, particularly in light ofrecent skirmishes in the air between the two countries in late February2019, news that the Pakistani military is likely aware of the exactspecifications of the fighters has dealt a serious blow to the platform’spotential viability in Indian hands. While Pakistan has no plans to operatethe Rafale itself, instead relying on the upcoming JF-17 Block 3linkandstealth fighters developed under Project AZMlinktomodernise its fleet, Pakistani pilots under the Qatari Air Force weredispatched to France to train on the Rafales.
The Qatari armed forces have relied on recruits from the South Asian stateto operate its hardware since the 1970s, and Pakistani personnel evenoperated Qatari battle tanks during the 1991 Gulf War and engaged Iraqiforces on the Gulf State’s behalf.
Qatar’s small population and extremely high living standards have meantthat it has been unable to recruit its own citizens to serve in the frontlines of its own armed forces – and much like neighbouring Saudi Arabia ithas relied heavily on Pakistani assistance as a result.
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Pakistani familiarity with the Rafale design, and the fact that its pilotshave flown the aircraft before the first squadron was ready for service inthe Indian Air Force, means that its armed forces will know the fighter’sexact limitations and those of its weapons systems – allowing assets suchas PL-12 equipped JF-17 fighters and HQ-16 air defence batterieslinktobetter avoid attacks from the French made platforms and more effectivelyneutralise them in turn.
Alongside the current corruption sandal surrounding the Rafaleacquisition, this could well be a key factor in preventing the Indian AirForce from pursing further acquisitions of the French fighters – which itis currently considering as part of its RFI tender for new light-mediumweight fighter jets.
The Indian fighter fleet, however, still remains highly capable ofcountering potential Pakistani attacks with its heavier and more capablefighter jets such as the Su-30MKIlink-which surpasses the capabilities of the Rafale across the spectrum and iscapable of carrying state of the art munitions such as the R-77, R-27ER,AIM-132linkairto air missiles and BrahMos cruise missilelinkwhichPakistan’s armed forces are far less familiar. -Military Watch Magazine
