The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine, multirole fighter aircraft
designed and built by Dassault Aviation.
Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to
perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground
support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions.
The Rafale is referred to as an "omnirole" aircraft by Dassault.
In the late 1970s, the French Air Force and Navy were seeking to replace
and consolidate their current fleets of aircraft. In order to reduce
development costs and boost prospective sales, France entered into an
arrangement with UK, Germany, Italy and Spain to produce an agile
multi-purpose fighter, the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The Rafale has been marketed for export to several
countries, and was selected for purchase by the Indian
Air Force, the Egyptian Air Force, and the Qatar Air
Force. The Rafale has been used in combat over
Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria.
Rafale in India
The Rafale was one of the six aircraft competing in the Indian MRCA competition for
126 multirole fighters
In February 2011, French Rafales flew demonstrations in India, including air-to-air
combat against Su-30MKIs.
In April 2011, the Indian Air Force (IAF) shortlisted the Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon
for the US$10.4 billion contract.
On 31 January 2012, the IAF announced the Rafale as the preferred bidder.
It was proposed that 18 Rafales would be supplied to the IAF by 2015 in fly-away
condition, while the remaining 108 would be manufactured by Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India under transfer of technology agreements.
The contract for 126 Rafales, services, and parts may have been worth up to US$20
billion.
Previous India deal ---
In May 2013, The Times of India reported that negotiations were "back on track", with
plans for the first 18 Rafales to be delivered in 2017.
Another point of contention was a provision where Dassault was to reinvest 50
percent of the deal's earnings into India's defence sectors, either through purchases
or technological expertise.
In March 2014, the two sides were reported to have agreed that the first 18 aircraft
would be delivered to India in flying condition and that the remaining 108 would be
70 percent built by HAL.
In December 2014, it was reported that India and France expect to sign a contract
by March 2015
New deal
In April 2015, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris, India requested the
rapid delivery of 36 Rafales in fly-away condition.
On 23 September 2016, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French
counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian signed the contract for the purchase of 36 off-the-
shelf Rafales in a deal worth €7.8 billion with an option for 18 more at the same
inflation-adjusted price.
The first Rafales are expected to be delivered by 2019, and India is set to have all 36
jets within six years.
The deal includes weapons and spares; the aircraft will be equipped with Meteor
BVRAAM missiles.
India is considering ordering 36 more aircraft as of August 2017 due to growing
tensions with China.
Performance
Maximum speed: ** High altitude: Mach 1.8 (1,912 km/h; 1,032 knots)
Low altitude: Mach 1.1 (1,390 km/h; 750 knots)
Range: >3,700 km (>2,000 nmi) with 3 drop tanks
Combat radius: >1,852 km (>1,000 nmi) on penetration mission with two CFTs
(2,300 L), three tanks (5,700 L), two SCALP-EG and two MICA AAMs.
Service ceiling: 15,235 m (50,000 ft)
Rate of climb: >304.8 m/s (>60,000 ft/min)
Wing loading: 328 kg/m2 (67.1 lb/ft2)
What happened recently
During the sortie, the Defence Minister sat in the rear cockpit while a French pilot flew
the customised aircraft with tail number RB-01. RB stands for the newly appointed IAF
chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhaduria, in recognition of his role in striking the Rafale
deal in 2016.
All 36 jets will arrive by April 2022, with 18 each to be deployed at Ambala and
Hasimara for the western and eastern front
COMPARED to SU30MKI fighter jets in the IAF, Rafale fares much
higher
LOITERING CAPABILITY: 1.5 times of Su30MKI
RANGE: 780-1055 km vs 400-550 of Su30MKI