All you need to know about Rafale Fighter Jets

The Rafale is a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base. The fully versatile Rafale is able to carry out all combat aviation missions: air superiority and air defense, close air support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence. The Rafale entered service with the French Navy in 2004 and with the French Air Force in 2006. With more than 30,000 flight hours in operations, it has proven its worth in combat in Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria. The Rafale was ordered by Egypt, Qatar and India.

Image source: Dassault Aviation

The Rafale, with its “Omnirole” capabilities, is the right answer to the capability approach selected by an increasing number of governments.It fully complies with the requirement to carry out the widest range of roles with the smallest number of aircraft.

The Rafale participates in permanent “Quick Reaction Alert” (QRA) / air-defense / air sovereignty missions, power projection and deployments for external missions, deep strike missions, air support for ground forces, reconnaissance missions, pilot training sorties and nuclear deterrence duties.The Air Force single-seat Rafale C, the Air Force two-seat Rafale B, and the Navy single-seat Rafale M feature maximum airframe and equipment commonality, and very similar mission capabilities.

The Rafale is a modern fighter jet known for its agility, speed, weapon holding capacity and attack capability. The Dassault Rafale has a delta wing design and is capable of g-forces as high as 11g (in case of emergency). The Rafale is available in both single and dual seating cabin (India ordered 28 single and 8 dual seater Rafale). The Rafale is 15.27 metre long and a wingspan of 10.80 metre. The empty weight of Rafale ranges from 9900 kg to 10600 kg depending on the variant and maximum take-off weight of 24500 kg.

The Rafale is powered by two SNECMA M88 engines, each capable of providing up to 50 kilonewtons (11,000 pounds-force) of dry thrust and 75 kN (17,000 pounds-force) with afterburners. The engines push the Rafale to attain a high speed of 1.8 Mach (1912 kmph) and a range of more than 3700 km with 3 drop tanks.The Rafale is a modern fighter jet known for its agility, speed, weapon holding capacity and attack capability. The Dassault Rafale has a delta wing design and is capable of g-forces as high as 11g (in case of emergency). The Rafale is available in both single and dual seating cabin (India ordered 28 single and 8 dual seater Rafale). The Rafale is 15.27 metre long and a wingspan of 10.80 metre. The empty weight of Rafale ranges from 9900 kg to 10600 kg depending on the variant and maximum take-off weight of 24500 kg.

Some facts about the French made Rafale Fighter Jets:

• India is the fourth country, after Egypt, France, and Qatar, to bolster its fleet with the Rafale fighter jets. Rafale is also the second French fighter, Indian Air Force will have in its fleet. IAF already has Mirage 2000 which is also French-made.
• 36 Rafale fighter jets are likely to be based in Ambala in Punjab and Hasimara in West Bengal. Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Harjit Singh Arora has said that in terms of guarding of two borders, Rafale aircraft would certainly provide the potent air defence that IAF required. He termed Rafale aircraft "by far the most potent platform for India's air defence"
• The first batch of four Rafale jets out of total 36 will reach India by May 2020. All Rafale fighter jets are expected to arrive by 2022. Rajnath Singh, who did a sortie in the Rafale aircraft in France, stated that he expected the first 18 fighter jets to be delivered by February 2021. Rafale aircraft were procured through the Foreign Military Sales route (FMS).
• The Rafale fighter jets have several India-specific modifications. These include Israeli helmet-mounted displays, low band jammers, radar warning receivers, infra-red search and tracking systems, 10-hour flight data recording among others.
• Rafale has air-to-air refueling capabilities. It can refuel another aircraft in buddy mode. The Rafale for IAF has been manufactured based on India Specific Enhancements (ISE).