The Rafale deal

The Rafale deal

India ordered 36 Rafale Fighter Jet in a defence deal with French Government and Dassault Aviation for over Euro 7.8 Billion.

All 36 Rafale Fighter jets ordered on sept 23, 2016 will arrive in India by sept 2022.

The Rafale received by IAF will be more advanced than the ones operating with the French Air Force. The programme began with the Rafale A technology demonstrator that was first flown on 4 July 1986.   

The Rafale features some of the very latest avionics systems including RBE2 multi-mode radar (the first in Europe with two-plane electronic scanning), advanced pilot's helmet with sight and display, Spectra countermeasures system and OSF - a jam-resistant passive optronic surveillance and imaging system with laser rangefinder.

Entered service: 2001

Crew: 01 Men

Weight empty: 9 t

Weight maximum: 24.5 t

Maximum speed: 1900 km/h.

Combat radius: 1050 km.

Armament:

Cannon GIAT/DEFA 30 mm.

8 Missiles MICA air-to-air

1 ASMP stand-off nuclear missile Or 2 APACHEs or SCALPs or Meteor missile for attack.

Tucked away in the details of the deal, there are 3 aspects which make the Rafale the Most destructive aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

Defense updates has analyzed them and bringing you particulars of each of these 3 aspects:

1- IAF’s Rafale will come equipped with the Meteor missile.

It is arguably the most advance air to air missile in the world, the acquisition of this weapon is likely to be game changer in South Asia, neither Pakistan nor China, India’s traditional military adversaries, possess a weapon of the same class.

So what is special in Meteor? Here are the main points:

a- Meteor has a range of 100 km. the only other air-to-air missile which has range similar to Meteor is the AIM-120D.

AIM-120D the latest variant of the U.S Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile is also designed of hit targets more than 100 km away.

b- Meteor has Ramjet engine a conventional solid-fuel booster accelerates the Meteor after launch, like most air-to-air missiles.

But while roaring through the air, the missile opens up an intake channel, allowing air to rush into the engine, which heats up the Oxygen and propels the supersonic missile to Mach 4 (4 times the speed of sound), the speed gives little chance to the target to escape.

c- Engineers from the European firm MBDA, which builds the missile, have reportedly claimed that the Meteor has a “no escape zone”, 3 times larger than that of the AIM-120D AMRAAM missile.

The “no escape zone” is an aerial combat term for a cone-shaped area determined by the missile’s capabilities-from where a targeted aircraft cannot escape solely using its own maneuverability.

To survive the no escape zone, a fighter jet has to be able to jam the seeker of the incoming missile or deceive it by firing chaff (strips of metal foil released in the air to obstruct radar detection).

d- In the final phase of target engagement, an on-board data link gives a major advantage to Meteor, using the data link means that, target information updates while the missile is already streaking towards its target.

Re-targeting data can even come from a third party-i.e., from a platform other than the launch aircraft.

2- SCALP EG/ STORM SHADOW

The second most important aspect is the presence of SCALP.

SCALP is an air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by MBDA.

SCALP is an air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by MBDA.

SCALP has the following features which makes it extremely useful for IAF.

a- The missile has a massive range of approximately 560 km, the range enable the missile to take out high value ground targets from long distances.

b- It carries a massive warhead, 450 KG BROACH (Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented Charge), this enables the missile to destroy even fortified bunkers.

It has been used recently, June 2016, the R.A.F used 4 SCALP missile against an ISIS Bunker in Iraq.

Scalp missiles were used due to the bunker’s massive construction, all 4 missiles scored direct hits, penetrating deep into the bunker, destroying them completely.

3- RADAR RBE2

Rafael also has another ace up its sleeve that is its new radar, Rafael are equipped with the brand-new RBE2 Active Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) Radar.

These are special features of the radar.

a- It is estimated to have maximum range around 200 km. the excellent range gives it ability to detect aircraft from long distances.

b- Maximum number aerial target it can track is 40.

c- Maximum number aerial target it can engaged simultaneously is 8.

d- Capabilities supporting low-observable target detection.

e- Higher reliability for reduced maintenance and lower through-life support costs.

f- Greater waveform agility resulting in improved resistance to jamming.

With its strong capabilities, this radar gives the Rafale a great situational awareness in the battlefield and gives IAF an edge over its rivals.