French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation said in a press release that the Indian government has selected the naval version of the Rafale fighter jet for the Indian Navy. The document released after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with French President Emmanuel Macron made no mention of the purchase of the Rafale jets, but Dassault said the Indian government has announced the selection of the naval version of the Rafale jets. The Defense Ministry on Thursday approved the purchase of 26 Rafale (Marine) jets from France.
“The Government of India announced the selection of the Naval Rafale to equip the Indian Navy with the latest generation fighter aircraft,” Dassault Aviation said in a statement. It added that the decision came after “a successful test campaign conducted in India, during which the Naval Rafale demonstrated that it fully meets the operational requirements of the Indian Navy and is well suited to the specifications of its aircraft carriers.” suited to”.
“The 26 Rafales of the Indian Navy will eventually join the 36 Rafales already in service, giving full satisfaction to the Indian Air Force, making India the first country to choose a military option, similar to France, which is offering both versions of the aircraft.” Its air and sea superiority and its sovereignty are guaranteed,” it said. India is procuring Rafale jets for deployment on the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
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The French defense chief said the selection of the Rafale confirms the excellence of the jet and the “extraordinary quality of the link between Dassault Aviation and the Indian forces and the importance of the strategic relationship between India and France”.
“As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of our partnership with the Indian forces, I would like to thank the Indian authorities for this new symbol of trust and pledge, on behalf of Dassault Aviation, that we will meet the expectations of the Indian Navy with the Rafale. Eric Trappier, President and CEO of Dassault Aviation, said.
Indian Navy Jet Requirements
After the Indian Air Force bought modern fighter jets like Tejas, Rafale, the Indian Navy is now looking for a major overhaul and needs a new batch of modern fighter jets to operate from its aircraft carriers. The Indian Navy began the process of acquiring 57 multi-role fighter aircraft for its aircraft carrier about four years ago. However, they will add about 30 advanced fighter jets to the fleet and will replace the older MiG-29K, the naval version of the jets.
The Indian Navy is also working on the TEDBF program which is a twin engine deck based fighter program for fighter aircraft made in India based on the HAL Tejas LCA. Since these jets will take time to develop and eventually replace foreign fighter jets in the fleet, the Navy needs some modern machines in the interim to replace the Russian MIGs.
Recently, the Navy conducted trials with the Dassault Rafale M, a French-made 4.5 generation fighter jet already in service with the Indian Air Force and operational capabilities of the US-made Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet. Also to check. Jet on the aircraft carrier. Both the jets get Air Force as well as Navy versions. Now, the Navy has selected 26 Rafale M’s to operate from INS Vikrant.
Dassault Rafale Marine
The Rafale is a French word meaning “gust of wind” and is a twin-engine multirole 4.5 Gen fighter aircraft built and designed by Dassault Aviation. The Indian Air Force has placed a major order to induct 36 Rafale jets to form two squadrons, one in North India and the other in South India. The Rafale Marine is the Navy’s version of the Rafale fighter jet with a similar configuration.
The Dassault Rafale features a delta wing design and is capable of high G-forces up to 11G and is available in both single and dual seating cabin configurations. Rafale has a length of 15.27 meters and a wingspan of 10.80 metres. The Rafale is fitted with a GIAT 30M/719B cannon which has a controlled 0.5 or 1 second burst at 2,500 RPM.
The Rafale is armed with the multi-target, fire-and-forget, air-to-air MBDA MICA missile as its primary missile. Rafale has MBDA Meteor in BVR (Beyond Visual Range) air-to-air missile. The Indian Navy has selected the Dassault Rafale M over the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet.