Aircraft Of the Indian Air Force Dassault Rafale Important detail on Dassault Rafale, an Indian Air Force Aircraft. The recent skirmish between India and Pakistan post-Pulwama that resulted in shooting down of an F-16 fighter plane of Pakistan by an Indian aircraft MIG-21 has established the might of Indian Air Force. The Prime Minister has lauded the Indian Air Force but at the same time, this also reflects the ageing fleet of aircraft that India has. To tackle this India is inducting two new aircraft - the Indigenous Tejas and the French Manufactured Dassault. Dassault Rafale Indian Air Force Aircraft The Rafale is manufactured by French Company Dassault Aviation, the same company that manufactured Mirage 2000. It is a multi-role fighter aircraft which is intended to perform aerial reconnaissance, ground support, air supremacy. It is also called “Omnirole aircraft” due to its versatile capability. The Need of Rafale in India: Due to difficult neighbors, the Indian Air Force needs a minimum of 42 squadrons to protect its borders. Lack of finances & sluggish approach in aircraft manufacturing technology has caused the Indian Air Force to manage the borders with a mere strength of 31 squadrons. These pressing situations prompted the government to induct more fighter jets. After years of pondering the UPA govt finally gave assent to the acquisition of 126 Rafale aircraft. But at that time the bone of contention became the responsibility of 108 aircraft which were to be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited. In 2015, the NDA government finally inducted acquisition of 36 Rafale in flyaway condition and withdrew the earlier deal. Many acquisitions were made by the opposition regarding corruption in the above deal as it was observed that in 2016 Reliance & Dassault both went into a joint venture. Finally, with recent information in light, the CAG finally said that there was no corruption in the deal and the increased cost is due to the inflation plus the purchase or certain high-end equipment and missiles like Meteor BVRAAM which was also accepted by the Supreme Court of India. The IAF has proposed the deployment of the Rafale jets in Ambala, Haryana & Hashimara, Bengal. This would counter both Pakistan and Chinese borders. Features of Dassault Rafale Aircraft The 4++ (or 4.5) generation aircraft is equipped with state of the art avionics and equipment. It also has integrated defensive aids system, SPECTRA, which protects it against any missiles and ground threats. Due to its smaller size as compared to its counterparts such as Russian SU-30MKI the aircraft does not easily get detected. It also supports air to air refuelling. It also has a flight control system (FCS) that is much reliable and prevents the chances of crashes. It is also equipped with Man to Machine interface integrated with HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick) allowing best performance to Air Force. The Difference between Rafale Vs Tejas: The Indian Air Force is focussing towards multirole aircraft with putting stress on Indigenous Tejas and Dassault’s Rafale. Let’s compare both aircraft: Characteristics Dassault Rafale HAL Tejas Type Medium Multi-role Combat Light Combat Aircraft (LCA - Aircraft (MMRCA) Multi-role) Max Weight 24,500 Kg 13,500 Kg Max Speed 1.8 Mach 1.8 Mach Range 3700 Km 850 Km Combat Radius 1852 km 500 Km Surface ceiling 15.2 Km 16 Km Hardpoints (for 14 8 missile) This clearly shows that Rafale is better than Tejas, but based on the various operational costs and ease of flight, the Tejas aircraft is also a better substitute to compensate the ailing squadrons of the air force. Conclusion: The Rafale aircraft would definitely prove to be an ace in the hole for India. The Hindustan Aeronautical Limited has also started working on the AMCA project and is also jointly developing FGFA with Russia which would strengthen the Indian Air Force. Glossary: AMCA - Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft FGFA - Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft Surface Ceiling - It is the max altitude at which the aircraft can fly Hard points - Points present in the aircraft where missiles can be attached MiG 21 Introduction to MiG 21 Aircraft in Indian Air Force along with design and specifications. With the recent skirmishes between India & Pakistan. The Pakistani govt under pressure ordered its Air Force to do significant damage to Indian military bases near PoK. Though the attack was conducted by them it did not go as planned and resulted in Pakistan losing there F-16 to nearly 5-decade old aircraft MiG -21. MiG 21 Aircraft: Indian Air Force The MiG- 21 is an interceptor aircraft manufactured by Mikoyan Gurevich in 1959 when Russia was a part of Soviet Union. It is developed primarily to exceed sonic speed (i.e speed of sound) and be an improvement over its predecessors MiG-15, MiG -17 & Mig-19. The MiG-21(also known as ‘Fishbed’) was the first Soviet aircraft that combined the abilities of both an air to air combat fighter aircraft as well as an interceptor aircraft designed to attack enemy aircraft specifically. India which is the largest operator of MiG-21 made its purchase in 1964 and as of 2019, 119 MiG’s are still in service. The Flying Coffin: It is observed that the plane has been plagued with serious maintenance problems. From 1970 to 2013 at least 14 MiG’s have been crashed. These crashes are not only due to engine problem but also due to weather conditions. The Indian Air Force due to lack of budgetary cuts is not able to purchase newer aircraft and has to make do with refitting new technology in an older machine. Due to these crashes, the plane has earned the name ‘Flying Coffin’ and ‘widowmaker’. MIG 21 Design: The aircraft has a delta wing which permits it to take turns without any rapid loss of speed. It has an operational range of 1210 Km, Flying speed of Mach 2 (2175 Km/h) and a surface ceiling of 17.8 Kms which makes it one of the best aircraft in its 3rd generation league. India - Pakistan 2019 Skirmish: After the Pulwama attack, the Indian govt has scaled up its military activity and adopted its “Offensive Defence” strategy. In retaliation to 26 Feb attack of the Indian Air Force where they conducting air strikes at Balakot, the Pakistan Air Force on 27 Feb planned to attack Indian Military bases with USA’s F-16 Aircraft. The Indian Air Force was ready with its interceptors and shot down one of the F-16s. Though the Indian MiG-21 piloted by Wing Cdr Abhinandan was also shot down but the global reaction was majorly focused on the fact that how did the Indian Pilot achieve this feat let's look at the specification of the two aircrafts: MiG 21 Aircraft vs F-16 Aircraft: Specification Mig-21 Bison F-16 Nick Name Fish Bed Fighting Falcon Generation 3rd Generation 4th Generation Type Fighter Multi-role Range 1210 Km 4220 km Missiles R-73, R-77 AIM-7, AIM 120 AMRAAM Speed 2175 Km/h 2400 Km/h Combat Radius 370 Km 547 Km MIG 21 Aircraft Upgrades: The MiG 21 also went under significant up gradation in 2006 with Multi-mode Radar, Better avionics & communication systems to give an edge over other aircraft. It was then renamed ‘MiG -21 Bison’. It was also fitted with R-73 Archer short range and R-77 medium-range anti-aircraft missile. It was also equipped with Helmet mounted displays which assisted the pilot while engaging in a dogfight. Conclusion: With the new upgrades the MiG-21 Bison gave a toe to toe competition to the F-16 Falcon but as it is said that it is not the machine that wins the war, it is the man behind the machine that makes it possible. Hence it is solely the practice of the Indian Air Force pilots who do all the hard work and make the impossible, possible. Glossary: Dog Fight: Aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. AMRAAM: Advanced Medium Air to Air Missile. It is a fire & forgets missile, generally equipped in F-16 and other US manufactured aircraft. LCA Tejas HAL Tejas: Indian Air Force The Tejas is the 4th generation fighter aircraft indigenously developed in India. It is designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Its Full-Scale Engineering Development (FSED) programme was sanctioned in April 1993 and the first Technology Demonstration took place in January 2001. LCA completed about 3200 flights before getting final operational clearance in 2013. First Series Production (SP1) Tejas aircraft was handed over to the Indian Air Force on 17 January 2015. Features: The Tejas is a Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). This means that it engages in light strikes or attack missions, reconnaissance roles. The Tejas is the first advance Fly-by-wire (FBW) fighter aircraft designed, developed and manufactured in India. It has a glass cockpit and is equipped with state-of-the-art Satellite aided Inertial Navigation System. It is equipped with a digital computer-based attack system and autopilot. The Tejas is capable of firing Air to Air Missiles, Bombs as well as Precision Guided Munitions. It also has Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles, improved and better stand- off weapons and air to air refueling capability. The aircraft with delta wing is capable of air combat, offensive air support and can perform a secondary role of reconnaissance. Technical specifications: Specification Measurement Max Takeoff Weight 13.5 Tonnes Payload 5.3 Tonnes Speed 1.8 Mach Combat Radius 300 km Takeoff distance 1700 m Service Ceiling 16 km Tejas Mk2 It is expected to be a 5th generation aircraft.