On Monday, the first group of five jets departed Merignac airbase in Bordeaux, a French port city. As the aircraft was flying for more than seven hours, they landed at the UAE’s Al Dhafra air base. The five Rafale jets landed Wednesday morning at Ambala air base will reboot the Indian Air Force Number 17 Golden Arrows squadron. Rafale’s first batch of jets to land in Ambala today
The Rafale 4.5 series is known to have been one of the world’s finest fighters and is described as a “omnirole” aircraft that can pick up several missions in one flight at a high speed of 1.8 Mach, almost double the sound level.
The first batch consists of five planes flew by pilots of the Indian Air Force. The five-jet squadron is composed of three single and two-seater aircraft.
- Rafale C single-seater
- Rafale M single-seater
- Rafale B two-seater
The storage stations for weapons of each aircraft are 14. Some of the most powerful air-to-air meteoric missiles is developed for the jets.
The 190 kg missile, which flies at a high speed of Mach 4, is beyond visual range (BVR) of over 100 km. The Rafale fighter jet with its maximum fuel tank and fully loaded fighting weapons will travel up to 3,200-3,700 km.
Rafale’s wing span is some 10.90 m. The height is 5.30 m above ground level. The aircraft’s weight is 10 tons when unloaded, and can carry up to 9.5 tonnes of external load. As mentioned above, those jets’ top speed is 1.8 Mach at high altitutde. The fighter jets’ internal and external fuel capacity is respectively 4.7 tonnes and
6.7 tonnes.
Rafale can unleash a range of weapons, including such:
- MICA
- METEOR
- The HAMMER
- SCALP
- AM39 EXOCET
- 2500 rounds/min NEXTER 30M791
The Rafale is the most powerful aircraft in South Asia with an airframe, radar systems and weapons program, well ahead of the F-16s that Pakistan uses or even the JF-20, China’s 5th generation stealth jet. JF-20 dose not have any combat expirience while Rafale is combat proven.
The Rafale is the seventh contribution to the IAF forms of fighters, an accomplishment that is exclusive among the world’s biggest air defenses.
