Why did India opt for Rafale aircrafts over other fighter jets?
The Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition, also known as the MRCA tender, was held from 2008-2011 and was a competition to supply 126 multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force.
The contest featured Six Fighter Aircraft form around the World, And these were:
1. What Indian Air Force needed was The Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), So,India ruled out F-16 , Gripen because these were single engine jets.
The contest featured Six Fighter Aircraft form around the World, And these were:
1.Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
2.Dassault Rafale
3.Eurofighter Typhoon
4.Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon
5.Mikoyan MiG-35
6.Saab JAS 39 Gripen.
1. What Indian Air Force needed was The Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), So,India ruled out F-16 , Gripen because these were single engine jets.
2.About F/A-18 one of the best jets in the world is twin engine . So why didn't Indian Air Force consider it ? BVR ( Beyond Visual Range ) radar technology . It cannot compete the Eurofighter , and rafale in that this matter( And some more other fields).
3.Next up , MiG-35 new bird in the sky . It was based on the old MIG-29 which we all ready have . MiG-29 is , was never as impressive as our pride SU30-MKI . Who takes a step back ? Not atleast Us(Indians) .Also are losing the credibility with Indian Armed Forces with late delivery and jacking up the cost of the weapons mid-way. E.g: INS Vikramaditya. Even they are going on a snail speed with Sukhoi FGFA. The serviceability of Fighter Su-30MKI is awful so does their immediate jacking up of the shells for T-90'S tanks. The poor after-sales service of the Russians are well known.
4.Whats left was Typhoon and Rafale :
Both the Fighters, are 4.5-generation twin-engined fighters with delta wings and are mostly made up of carbon fibre composites, which make the fighter very light and increase fuel efficiency.
In power game, Rafale’s engine has dry thrust of 50kN(LOWER), whereas Eurofighter’s is a notch HIGHER (69kN). Eurofighter has a mechanically steered pulse radar called CAPTOR whereas Rafale has a PESA radar which is completely automated and technologically way superior to the European fighter’s. Rafale’s radar is able to track up to 40 aircraft and can engage eight of them.However , Range of Rafale's radar is lower than that of EuroFighter.
Rafale is also known for ‘omni-fighter’ as it could be tasked for suppression of enemy air defences and deep strike missions. Eurofighter is the best in air-to-air combat but has limited air-to-ground combat capabilities.
Rafale can be used as an aircraft carrier-based fighter and has a nuclear strike role like Sukhoi's whereas Eurofighter’s naval version is still in development stage. Rafale has the advantage of being logistically and operationally similar to Mirage 2000, which the Indian Air Force already operates. This would require fewer changes in the existing infrastructure in the Indian Air Force, which, in turn, will reduce cost. If India had opted for Eurofighter , it would have been a totally new edition in the Indian Air Force's fleet, compelling the force to build new infrastructure and start a series of training for its pilots to familiarize them with a new technology.
Being 100% French , Rafale a very distinct edge over its competitor on issue of Transfer Of Technology. In the case of Eurofighter, India would have to deal with four countries (UK, Germany, Italy and Spain) for sorting out even a minor issue related to acquisition or technology transfer.
Rafale, a medium multi-role combat aircraft, will easily fill the gap between India’s high-end Sukhoi's and low-end Tejas aircraft.
Comments
Post a Comment