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Air Force looking forward to inducting new multi-role fighter aircraft: Vice chief
The Indian Air Force plans to acquire 114 Rafale jets to enhance its combat fleet, with a decision pending amidst ongoing talks with France.
The Indian Air Force is looking forward to inducting new multi-role fighter aircraft to shore up its combat fleet, IAF vice chief Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor said on Wednesday, ahead of a key defence ministry meeting that will discuss the proposed acquisition of 114 Rafale fighter jets.
“A concrete decision has not been taken on whether that is going to be Rafale or any other aircraft presently under deliberation. Therefore, it will not be correct for me to comment on that at the moment. IAF is looking forward to inducting a lot more of these newer generation aircraft, and the sooner the better,” he said at a briefing on the upcoming Vayu Shakti exercise to be held at Pokhran near Jaisalmer on February 27.
The exercise, which will showcase the air force’s combat prowess, will involve 77 fighter jets, 43 helicopters, eight transport planes, remotely piloted aircraft, counter-unmanned aerial systems and surface-to-air guided weapons.
Full spectrum operations by fighter, transport and helicopter platforms including Tejas, Rafale, Jaguar, Mirage-2000, Sukhoi- 30MKI, MiG-29, Hawk, C-130J, C-295, C-17, Chetak, ALH MK-IV, Mi-17 IV, LCH, Apache, Chinook and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) will be executed during the exercise, the defence ministry said.
“As the first, fastest and fiercest responder, the Indian Air Force will highlight its ability to rapidly punish the enemy, dominate operational environment from the outset and decisively influence the course of operations by transforming tactical actions into strategic outcomes,” it said in a statement. “It will also highlight the success of Operation Sindoor, reaffirming IAF’s primacy in airspace dominance, long-range precision targeting, multi-domain operations and its ability to deliver decisive effects with indigenous platforms guided by the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.”
Around 10 women pilots will fly different types of aircraft during the exercise, HT learns.
Rafale was among the heroes of Operation Sindoor, Kapoor said, in the context of the missions carried out by the French-origin aircraft during the four-day military confrontation with Pakistan in early May following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
To be sure, the defence acquisition council (DAC), headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh, will on Thursday take up an IAF proposal to buy 114 Rafale fighters to strengthen its combat capabilities. The defence procurement board (DPB), headed by defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, had on January 16 approved the proposal at a time when the IAF is grappling with a shortage of fighter squadrons. The approval by the DPB paved the way for the proposed acquisition to be taken up by the DAC, India’s apex military procurement body.
The development comes at a time when ongoing talks with France are focused on localisation of the Rafales to be made in India, integration of local weapons and other India-specific requirements. The DAC meeting comes ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the country during February 17-19 –– he is travelling to India to launch the India-France Year of Innovation along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to attend the Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit. The main meeting between Modi and Macron is expected to be held in Mumbai on February 17.
The capability boost is expected to cost around ₹3.25 lakh crore, as previously reported by HT. Under the model under consideration, France will supply 18 Rafale jets in fly-away condition while the remaining 96 will be made in India.
