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Rafale Fighter Jets
Why is it in News?
- 5 Rafale fighter jets out of 36 have been delivered to India by France.
Details:
- When all the 36 Rafale jets are delivered by 2022, it will take it to 32 squadrons.
- When all the 36 Rafale jets are delivered by 2022, it will take it to 32 squadrons.
- Rafale:
(1) It is the state-of-the-art 4.5 Generation.
(2) It can reach almost double the speed of sound, with a top speed of 1.8 Mach.
(3) It has multi-role capabilities, including electronic warfare, air defence, ground support and in-depth strikes.
(4) Each aircraft has 14 storage stations for weapons.
(5) The jets come with one of the most advanced Meteor air-to-air missiles.
(6) 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.
- Comparison with China:
(1) China’s J20 Chengdu jets are called 5th generation combat jets, but the J20 have no actual combat experience.
(2) Rafale is combat proven, having been used by the French Air Force for its missions in Afghanistan, Libya and Mali.
(3) Rafale can also carry more fuel and weapons than the J20.
- Comparison with Pakistan:
(1) The 190-kg missile has a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) of over 100 km, traveling at a top speed of Mach 4.
(2) The F16 jets, used by Pakistan, carry the AMRAAM missile, which has a BVR of 75 km.
(3) Rafale can also outperform F16 in dogfights.
