New Delhi, 23 July (Hindustan Times). The Air Force has proposed to French firm Dassault Aviation to equip Rafale fighter jets with Indian weapons. This step can be a big success for ‘Make in India’ in the defense sector, which can also open the way for the global market for indigenous weapons. Apart from India, Rafale is used by many other countries including France, Egypt, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. Many of these countries have placed orders for Rafale aircraft.
India currently has 36 Rafale fighter jets, which were bought by the Indian government in September 2016 from French company Dassault Aviation in a deal worth Rs 59,000 crore. All these aircraft have reached India, which have been operationalized and deployed on the eastern and western fronts. For these, squadrons have been formed at Ambala airbase and Hasimara in West Bengal. Even before the supply of these aircraft, the French government had offered to the Indian government to increase investment in India. Under this, French defense company Dassault Aviation wants to manufacture more than 100 Rafale fighter jets in India.
After the delivery of 36 Rafale jets to the Air Force, India has expressed its intention to buy 26 Rafale seaplanes for the Navy, which are to be deployed on INS Vikrant. The French weapons fitted in the 36 aircraft supplied to India are quite expensive, which is why the Indian Air Force has asked a French firm to equip the Rafale fighter jets with weapons made in India. These include the indigenous air-to-air missile ‘Astra Air’ and the Smart Anti Airfield Weapon (SAAW). Very soon the strike range of Astra Mark-II will be increased to 160 km. The firepower of its advanced version will be up to 300 km. Indian weapon systems have already been integrated into the indigenous LCA Tejas and Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft.
Defense officials pointed out that once Indian weapons are integrated into Rafale, there could be a huge market for them. The top brass of the Air Force has been pitching for indigenous solutions to its requirements to be ‘self-reliant’ in times of conflict. Several indigenous weapon systems have been deployed in eastern Ladakh during the ongoing standoff with China. In these, air-to-air Astra missiles are capable of attacking targets up to a distance of 100 km. Smart Anti Airfield Weapon can hit the target even at a distance of more than 100 kms. Its improved versions are also being developed.
