Dassault Rafale Deal beneficial to Indians and why?
Dassault Rafale is nothing but a perfect option for Indian Air Force which is a shot in the arm for IAF capabilities and roles.The Dassault Rafale is a French Twin-Engine,Canard Delta wing,Mulitrole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation for wide range of short and long-range missions, including ground and sea attacks, reconnaissance, high-accuracy strikes and nuclear strike deterrence.
Weapons : Indian Air Force Rafale will be of F3R standard and will feature some top-notch weaponry which includes the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) and MICA air-to-air missile. The range of weapons on Rafale are quite diverse with : MICA , Magic and Meteor air-to-air missiles; Apache, AS30L, Paveways , Hammer and Storm Shadow air-to-ground missiles; and Exocet anti-ship missiles.
For a strategic mission the Rafale can deliver the MBDA (formerly Aerospatiale) ASMP-A stand-off nuclear missile thus it can replace the Mirage 2000 and Jaguars in the strategic role of deep enemy strike with nuke-tipped missiles.
India’s Rafale will deploy the in-development BrahMos NG missile in either a twin or single weapon load-out when the system is ready from 2021. The MBDA Scalp and BrahMos will provide planners with unique subsonic/supersonic stand-off attack options available to no other air force in the world. The Rafale deal also includes assurances for coding extensions to other in-development Indian weapon systems, including the Astra BVRAAM.
Meteor is the next generation of Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) system designed to revolutionize air-to-air combat in the 21st Century. Guided by an advanced active radar seeker, Meteor provides all weather capability to engage a wide variety of targets from agile fast jets to small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and cruise missiles.
The MBDA MICA is an anti-air multi-target, all weather, fire-and-forget short and medium-range missile system. It is intended for use both by air platforms as individual missiles as well as ground units and ships, which can be equipped with the rapid fire MICA Vertical Launch System. It is fitted with a thrust vector control (TVC) system.
2. Sensors and Electronic Warfare Suite :
The best part of Rafale is the multi-dimensional sensors and EW systems it possess. It will have a THALES Front Sector Optronics (FSO) visual and infrared sensor with Thales RBE 2 AESA radar thus making Rafale one of the first Indian Fighter Aircraft to sport an AESA radar ( after Jaguar DARIN III ).
It will also have a THALES-MBDA SPECTRA internal “Electronic Warfare” (EW) system to carry out long-range detection, identification and localisation of threats, allowing the pilot to instantly select the most effective defensive measures based on combinations of radar jamming, infrared or radar decoying and evasive manoeuvres.
It can pin point targets and destroy them with PGMs , and has a threat library adding to Rafale superior situational awareness.
Rafale makes extensive use of radar-absorbent material (RAM) in the form of paints and other materials. RAM forms a saw-toothed pattern on the wing and canard trailing edges, for instance. The aircraft is designed to, so that its untreated radar signature is concentrated in a few strong “spikes,” which are then suppressed by the selective use of RAM.
75% of Rafale surface structure and 30% of its mass are made of composites. Besides, the high amount of composites and RAM materials, ducted air intakes, Rafale also has a sawtooth design feature all over the airframe and even in the air intakes. These sawtooth are made of RAM materials and meant to scatter and absorb radar waves.
3. Training with Rafales :
Indian Rafale Deal will also have Sogitec room-sized computer which will have Rafale simulators which will aid the pilots in training which will be a first for any Indian Military Aircraft. There will also be a Rafale Maintenance Trainer and Computer-based Trainer rooms with the deal. Rafales will have touch-screen simulation tools thus aiding the planners in quick planning .
4. Where will the Rafales be based at ?
Indian Rafales will be based at Ambala and Hasimara bases which will support Indian forces against any possible Chinese aggression in Northern Sectors and against Pakistani forces in CAS missions and close quarter combat including Maritime Operations and Recon missions.
5. Off-Sets with Rafales :
The €7.87 billion deal will also include €4 billion in offsets adhering to Modi’s ‘Make in India’ programme. This includes Dassault’s partnerships with 72 firms in India to support the Indian Rafale fleet for its Snecma M88 engines, radar, electronic warfare and avionics, aeronautical components, engineering and software.
Companies like L&T , Kalyani , Mahindra and others with Dassault-Reliance joint venture firm (DRAL) producing the mechanical parts and all. The Thales Reliance Defence Systems (TRDS) will also develop tech for Rafales in India and will develop Indian capabilities in radar and aircraft avionics.
Rafales will possess a high availability rate compared to other IAF aircrafts and with a 50 per cent offset clause where France will invest 30 percent into military aeronautics-related research programs and 20 percent into local production of Rafale components this is a perfect deal for India.
Many people have accused that Rafale deal was a scam. If they think so , then better go through this link : Pouring a bucket of ice cold water over the whole ‘Rafale scam exposed’ fiasco
And some people have also accused that instead of Rafale , more SU-30MKI should have been procured. They need to understand that Rafale is just $24 million more expensive than a Su-30MKI . Add on it the basic operating costs for Rafale which is $9,484 per hour of flight while for Su-30MKI it is $18,000 per hour of flight and thus has more saving in future. MKI has a service life of just 6000 hours while for Rafale it is 8000 hours.
Indian Rafales will be self-supportive and need not depend on the mercy of others as in case of SU-30MKI where spares are a constant problem and India has to constantly nag with Russia in such a case. Rafale does not have to leave its operational base for maintenance purposes. Unlike on other types of fighter aircraft, theRafale airframe and engine no longer require time-consuming and costly periodic depot-level inspections.
This is all that I can add in a much shorter form. Hope my answer serves the purpose =)
Sources :
The Rafale, mission ready with low operating costs
The Rafale carries a wide range of smart and discrete sensors
10 Reasons Why The Indian Rafale Is Evolution Itself
EXCLUSIVE: 1st Full Details Of Rafale’s €4-billion Make-in-India & Offsets Plan
