India’s Rafale fighter jets: Here’s everything from speed to weapon capabilities
30th July, 2020
Context:
Rafale has landed in Ambala.
It has taken the squadron strength to 31.
Specifications:
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.
It has multi-role capabilities, including electronic warfare, air defence, ground support and in-depth strikes.
Benefits:
The Rafale is combat proven, have been used by the French Air Force for its missions in Afghanistan, Libya and Mali.
It has also been used for missions in Central African Republic, Iraq and Syria.
Rafale can also carry more fuel and weapons than the J20.
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.
The Rafale jets also come with SCALP, the air-to-ground cruise missile with a range over 300 km. It is a long-range deep strike missile.
Other Demands:
India has also asked for HAMMER (Highly Agile and Maneuverable Munitions Extended Range), which is an air-to-ground precision guided missile produced by French conglomerate Safran, and can be used against bunker-type hardened targets within the range of 70 km.