All information about Rafael fighter jets

India’s Rafale fighter jets: Here’s everything from speed to weapon capabilities.

India’s Rafale fighter jets: When all the 36 Rafale jets are delivered by 2022, it will take it to 32 squadrons, still well below the 42 squadrons of the sanctioned strength.

The five Rafale fighter jets that land in Ambala on Wednesday morning will resurrect the Number 17 Golden Arrows squadron of the Indian Air Force. It will take the IAF’s squadron strength to 31. When all the 36 Rafale jets are delivered by 2022, it will take it to 32 squadrons, still well below the 42 squadrons of the sanctioned strength.

The state-of-the-art 4.5 Generation Rafale jet can reach almost double the speed of sound, with a top speed of 1.8 Mach. With its multi-role capabilities, including electronic warfare, air defence, ground support and in-depth strikes, the Rafale lends air superiority to the Indian Air Force.

Each aircraft has 14 storage stations for weapons. The jets come with one of the most advanced Meteor air-to-air missiles. The 190-kg missile has a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) of over 100 km, traveling at a top speed of Mach 4. The F16 jets, used by Pakistan, carry the AMRAAM missile, which has a BVR of 75 km. Rafale can also outperform F16 in dogfights.

Basic Rafale Specifications:

• Wing span: 10.90 m
• Length: 15.30 m
• Height: 5.30 m
• Overall empty weight: 10 tonnes
• External load: 9.5 tonnes
• Max. take-off weight: 24.5 tonnes
• Fuel (internal): 4.7 tonnes
• Fuel (external): up to 6.7 tonnes
• Ferry Range: 3,700 km
• Top Speed: 1.8 Mach at high altitude
• Landing ground run: 450 m (1,500 ft)
• Service ceiling: 50,000 ft

Rafale jets reach Ambala today: What next after 7,000-km journey from France?

The aircraft will be inducted at Air Force Station Ambala on Wednesday, subject to weather, the IAF has said. The final induction ceremony will take place in the second half of August.

The first batch of the much-awaited Rafale fighter jets took off from France today (July 27) and are enroute to India. India had bought 36 twin-engine fighter planes from Dassault Rafale for an estimated Rs 58,000 crore, through an inter-governmental agreement signed in 2016.

How many Rafale India has currently ?

The first batch includes five aircraft, being flown by Indian Air Force pilots. They took off from the Merignac airbase near Bordeaux in France.

The first fighter jet was handed over to the Indian Air Force in October 2019, in France, in a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and French Minister for Armed Forces Florence Parly.

The distance covered by them is close to 7,000 kms, and will require air-to-air refuelling. While the distance can be covered within a day as well, with the refuelling, it has been planned that the jets will make a stop in United Arab Emirates.

They will be taken to the Al Dhafra French air base near Abu Dabhi on Monday, and will take off from there for Ambala on Wednesday morning.

Are all the five jets the same?

No, the jets India has bought are a mix of single-seater and two-seater planes. The jets on their way to India are also a mix of both.

Interestingly, the twin-seater air planes have the current Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria’s initials, “RB”, as he played a significant role in negotiating the deal.

When will the other jets come?

Of the ten delivered to the Air Force, five are in France for training. Pilots and support personnel of the Indian Air Force have been given complete training about the aircraft and the weapon systems by Dassault in France.

According to the Indian Embassy in France, IAF batches will continue to be trained in France for the next nine months.

The delivery of all the 36 jets is scheduled by the end of 2021.

Which squadron will they join?

The first jets will comprise the resurrected No 17 ‘Golden Arrows’ squadron of the Air Force, and will be stationed in Ambala. The Golden Arrows were raised in 1951 and have been involved in a number of significant operations through their history, including the Kargil War. But after the Air Force started to phase out the Mig-21, which were operated by the Golden Arrows, the squadron was disbanded in 2016.

It has been resurrected now for the multi-role, state-of-the-art Rafale.