So? How will it go up when there is 16 per year?
These Dassault PR people are coming up with brainfart every other day.
Rafale DH/EH of Indian Air Force : News and Discussions
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These Dassault PR people are coming up with brainfart every other day.
On Rafale and deadly Panther choppers, India gets a huge offer from France
France has accepted the Indian request that defence technologies shared with the Indian military should not be given to New Delhi’s adversaries. France’s relationship has already reached a new low with Pakistan after PM Imran Khan attacked President Macron.
Rafale, Panther, MRTT: The underside of the future Indian mega contract
While the Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, and the CEO of Dassault Aviation are expected on 23 January in Athens for the final signature of the acquisition contract for the 18 Rafale aircraft destined for the Greek air force, the Elysée is currently conducting an unprecedented diplomatic offensive in India to obtain a 5 billion euro package deal. A package that would involve the order of 36 additional Rafales, 6 tanker aircraft, and more than a hundred Panther helicopters.
Diplomatic offensive
On the occasion of the 34th session of the Franco-Indian strategic dialogue, the Diplomatic Adviser to the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Bonne, and his Chief of Staff, Admiral Bernard Rogel, set the terms for a future "Package Deal" with New-Delhi, which would involve the acquisition of 36 additional Rafale aircraft, 6 A-330 MRTT transport and refuelling aircraft, 111 AS565 Panther multi-role helicopters, as well as the supply of 6 EPR engines by EDF for €38 billion.
Discussions in the defence field focused on two themes. Firstly, the strengthening of the strategic link between Paris and Delhi in order to counterbalance the growing Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific area and the Persian Gulf, but also the participation of Indian forces in the European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz, bilateral naval exercises with the UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.
The signing of an agreement on a common maritime surveillance capacity, access to the Djibouti military base, and an intensification of intelligence exchange. And finally, the help of French diplomacy to enable India to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. But the concessions in the industrial field were just as spectacular. Thus the Elysée would have proposed to relocate to India 70% of the production line of the Rafale, 100% of that of its M-88 engine, and 100% of that of the multi-purpose Panther helicopter.
Understanding the need
Exchanges with the National Security Advisor, Ajit Kumar Doval, showed that the French proposals were in line with the Modi government's operational and economic priorities. The relocation of these assembly lines will indeed enable the Indian aeronautics industry to reach an international standard in terms of processes (quality, delivery times, training, automation, digitalisation) that it has not yet been able to achieve. But also to enable the Indian authorities to concretise their promises in terms of job creation, whereas the pandemic linked to Covid has had a severe impact on the Indian economy.
Thus, the acquisition of the Panthers would enable the Airbus Helicopters/Mahindra JV to launch its Global Hub India project to address the replacement market for several helicopter ranges (NUH, RSH, NMRH projects) and the needs in South East Asia, i.e. a budget of nearly 36 billion euros and the assurance of creating more than 10,000 jobs locally.
In addition, and at a time when China is on the verge of achieving strategic autonomy in terms of the motorisation of its military aircraft, Paris has put Safran's offer back on the table to co-develop the future engine for the LCA and the 5th generation AMCA aircraft. In terms of the operational schedule, the French initiative comes at just the right time. The Indian Navy, which is struggling to replace its 111 utility helicopters, is reportedly about to resort to a leasing offer. The Modi government has moreover released since last summer a budget of 2 billion euros to urgently acquire several air vectors and artillery systems to respond to Chinese pressure in Ladakh.
And if the 36 Rafale will constitute the bridgehead of the Indian border defence in the Himalayas from 2022, date of the end of the deliveries, these will probably not be sufficient. This is not only because of the attrition of the Indian Air Force's air capabilities, but above all because of the new Chinese capabilities in the zone (fifth generation J-20 aircraft, H-6K strategic bombers with KD-20 cruise missiles, revival of the nuclear air component, ballistic missiles, etc.).
However, during his annual press conference on Monday 4 October 2020, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria declared that the Indian Air Force would study, once the acquisition of the 83 MK1A LCAs had been secured, the possibility of either continuing the MRFA (Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft) call for tenders for the acquisition of 114 fighter aircraft, or of ordering two additional Rafale squadrons under an inter-governmental agreement with France.
However, the 83 LCAs mentioned were signed on 13 January, and the MRFA programme, if it is maintained, will not meet the current operational emergency, as it is too time-consuming. It is for this reason that French industrialists have been preparing for several weeks for an additional order of Rafale with the utmost discretion.
"Silver Bullet"
This scenario is all the more likely as France remains a strategic partner because of its involvement in the Indian nuclear deterrent programme (Jaguar, Mirage 2000, etc.). And it is precisely this card that the Elysée is seeking to play. Here it is not just a question of allowing the Indian forces to extend their strike capabilities with additional Rafale aircraft, or tanker aircraft that will extend their range, but of incapacitating Pakistan, which is the most dynamic nuclear power in the world because of its production rate, which would give it an arsenal of 350 warheads in 2025.
According to Indian sources close to the dossier, France has undertaken not to renew its maintenance contracts for the Pakistani Mirage III/Vs, as well as for the Agosta attack submarines built by Naval Group and Thales. Two vital vectors for the country's nuclear triad. The strategic air force is made up of Mirage squadrons from Masroor base, whose delivery vehicles are tactical bombs and Ra'ad 2 cruise missiles, whose nuclear warheads would be stored in a bunker 5 km from the base.
As for the five Agosta diesel submarines, they should soon integrate the Babur 3 cruise missile, with conventional or nuclear warhead, with a range of 450 km. The last remarks of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan against Emmanuel Macron would only have precipitated the French decision.
UAE Air Force to help 3 Rafale fighters reach India, 7 more in April
India and the UAE are expected to take bilateral ties to the next level with the two countries, along with France, discussing conducting trilateral military exercises
IAF ready to tackle any challenge from Leh to Kanyakumari, says Rafale pilot
Squadron Leader Sarthak Kumar, who was part of the IAF and the French Air and Space Force's bilateral exercise 'Desert Knight-21' at the Air Force Station Jodhpur being held from January 20 to 24, said that it was a great learning experience."IAF is ready to undertake any challenge from Leh to Kanyakumari. The Rafale fleet is ready to undertake any operation. Rafale is not only able to operate in different parts of the county but across the world. It is able to complete all the tasks that any fourth-generation or fifth-generation fighter can do," Kumar told ANI.
"The Rafales we (IAF) have are the fastest and most advanced as of now," said the Rafale pilot, when asked if Indian Rafales were more advanced than their French counterparts.
Kumar further said that the 'Desert Knight-21' was a successful exercise.
"This has been a really important exercise for the integration of Rafale in the operations of the IAF. The basics of all these exercises were all about cooperation, learning from each other's experiences while operating in different terrains, spectrum and thereafter applying it to enhance our operational capability. So this has been a really successful exercise," he said.
"We have flown with their (France) pilots in Rafale cockpits. We learned from them what they do in different situations and similarly, they have also learned from us. Both of us learned great lessons," he added.
India and France have fielded a number of fighter jets in the exercise which include Rafales of two sides besides Mirages and the Sukhois of the Indian Air Force.
The French are participating in the exercise with Rafale, Airbus A-330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), A-400M Tactical Transport aircraft and approximately 175 personnel.
The IAF aircraft participating in the exercise include Mirage 2000, Su-30 MKI, Rafale, IL-78 Flight Refuelling Aircraft, Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) and an AEW&C aircraft.
3 more Rafale jets land in India after non-stop flight from France
The aircraft got airborne earlier Wednesday from Istres Air Base in France and few non-stop for 7000 km.
India’s Rafale squadron added more muscle after the third batch of three fighter jets arrived in India on Wednesday night after flying non-stop from France, the Indian Air Force said.
“The third batch of three Rafale aircraft landed at an IAF base a short while ago. They flew over 7000Km with in-flight refuelling. The aircraft got airborne earlier in the day from #IstresAirBase in France. IAF deeply appreciates the tanker support provided by UAE Air Force,” the IAF tweeted.
The new jets will bolster the strength of the Indian Air Force’s only Rafale squadron which is based in Ambala.
This is the third set of deliveries of the aircraft to the IAF. India ordered 36 warplanes from France (equivalent of two squadrons) in September 2016 for ₹59,000 crore under a government-to-government deal. With the new jets, the number of Rafales in the IAF’s inventory has increased to 11.
The second batch of the IAF’s three Rafale fighter jets had reached the Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat from France in early November before they flew to their home base in Ambala. The first batch of five Rafale jets reached the Ambala air base on July 29 after a stopover at the Al Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi. A formal induction ceremony of the war planes took place later on September 10, 2020.
The IAF has been operating the fighter jets in the Ladakh theatre where the military is on high alert amid a border row with China.
On Tuesday, the Rafales took part in the Republic Day flypast for the first time.
All the 36 planes are likely to join the IAF’s fighter fleet by the year-end. The second Rafale squadron will be based at Hasimara in West Bengal to strengthen the IAF’s capabilities in the eastern sector.
Next batch going to be 7 in number including those in France for training.
Pakistanis would very much hate French Punctuality in delivering Rafales.
Pakistanis would very much hate French Punctuality in delivering Rafales.
On PDF , they Talk like this
1 ) We will get F 16 V from Biden
2 ) Then somebody says No we will get J 10 C
3 ) Third guy says JF 17 with PL.15 is enough
4 ) Fourth Guy says , we will make FIFTH Gen plane with China and Turkey
This has been going on for months now
RAFALE has totally F**ked up their minds
On PDF , they Talk like this
1 ) We will get F 16 V from Biden
2 ) Then somebody says No we will get J 10 C
3 ) Third guy says JF 17 with PL.15 is enough
4 ) Fourth Guy says , we will make FIFTH Gen plane with China and Turkey
This has been going on for months now
RAFALE has totally F**ked up their minds
Best bet is to buy 5 th gen aircraft from Chinese, if it's available for sale and finance available.
Otherwise they would continue JF17 with PL15 & propaganda.
Nowadays PD F is not even funny to visit heir site.
On PDF , they Talk like this
1 ) We will get F 16 V from Biden
2 ) Then somebody says No we will get J 10 C
3 ) Third guy says JF 17 with PL.15 is enough
4 ) Fourth Guy says , we will make FIFTH Gen plane with China and Turkey
This has been going on for months now
RAFALE has totally F**ked up their minds
PDF? You should be wondering about what the PAF is thinking right now.
Their only realistic answer to the Rafale F3R is the F-35, and they are not going to get it. So their only other option is to wait for the Rafale to become outdated after 15 years.
and for Indian top brass a very astonishing habit. (if you compare to Tejas for exemple)
Things are getting changed now..
Using French deal as model template,
Deal with HAL will include clause to impose fine if delivery date is skipped. .
To my knowledge Previouly , India got C 130j super Hercules delivered ahead of time. Bigger the program easier to streamline deliveries.