Finally, we get to hear that the much-delayed Rafale deal will be signed on September 23, 2016. Once the Inter-Government Agreement (IGA) is signed, India will get 36 Rafale aircraft from France, for which its Defence Minister Jean Yves Le Drian, along with the CEOs of Dassault Aviation, Thales and MBDA are going to be in New Delhi for signing of the contract which is said to be worth 7.87 billion euros. After protracted negotiations, which have been going on for months, it is said that India has been able to save a significant amount on the deal.

According to mainline media, the cost, offsets and service details have been finalised and work is currently being done on the IGA. A ‘working team’ from France is in New Delhi going through the contract with Indian officials. Subsequently, the firmed up document goes to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCA) for final clearance. Following the Committee’s approval, a contract should be signed within 45 days. An advance of 10-15 per cent of total contract value is expected to be paid to the French Government at the signing of the contract.

MMRCA Deal Scrapped

It may be recalled that India had set afloat the MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) deal for 126 aircraft, said to be ‘mother of all deals’. The proposal for 126 advanced combat aircraft worth $10.4 billion was first mooted in the year 2000. Six aircraft were bid for the order – the Swedish Saab Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, French Dassault Rafale; Russian Mikoyan MiG-35 and the American F-16IN and F/A-18N Super Hornet. In 2012, Dassault’s Rafale was selected for India’s single largest defence deal. But then protracted negotiations failed. When the Narendra Modi Government came to power, it was decided in a surprise move by the Prime Minister that India would buy 36 Rafale aircraft from France, thus shelving the 126 aircraft deal and throwing open doors for other options. Right now, the priority is acquisition of the 36 Rafale aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) which has a depleted squadron strength of 32 as against an authorisation of 42. With the induction of Rafale, the squadron strength is to go up from 32 to 34, still leaving a big gap. There are a number of contenders for the slot including the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas or Sweden’s Gripen or the US F-16, all of the foreign contenders will have to come under the ‘Make in India’ route.

With the squadron strength being what it is, there is a sense of urgency and the importance of the signing of the IGA for the omnirole Rafale jets. The aircraft is known for its ‘strategic’ role of carrying nuclear warheads. The 36 aircraft would be inducted into IAF between 2019 and 2023. It is stated in the media that Dassault Aviation will invest 50 per cent of the value of the deal as offsets in India which will help create business worth at least three billion Euros for Indian companies. The Rafale has the advantage of being logistically and operationally similar to the Mirage 2000, which the IAF already operates and used with great success during the Kargil War in Operation Safed Sagar. This would require fewer changes in the existing infrastructure of the IAF, which reduces costs.

Many Air Forces Find Rafale Useful

The French aircraft manufacturer has been aggressive in its bid to India, that the aircraft has proven roles in combat. Over the last decades, air forces have always been the first military component engaged in all crises or conflicts, from the Falklands to the Gulf, from Bosnia to Kosovo, from Afghanistan to Libya, and more recently Mali, the West African Republic, and Iraq.

Dassault Aviation states that the Rafale, with its ‘Omni-role’ capabilities, is the right answer to the capability approach selected by an increasing number of governments. It fully complies with the requirement to carry out the widest range of roles with the smallest number of aircraft. It participates in permanent ‘Quick Reaction Alert’/air defence/air sovereignty missions, power projection and deployments for external missions, deep strike missions, air support for ground forces, reconnaissance missions, pilot training sorties and nuclear deterrence duties.

The air force single-seat Rafale C, the air force two-seat Rafale B, and the navy single-seat Rafale M feature maximum airframe and equipment commonality, and very similar mission capabilities.

Omni-role

Rafale states that lessons learned from the latest conflicts where air power was used can be summarised into four overarching expectations about weapon systems by political decision makers:

• ‘Versatility’, that is the capability, with the same system, to perform different missions.
• ‘Interoperability’, or the ability to fight in coalition with the allies, using common procedures and standards agreements, and collaborating and communicating in real-time with other systems.
• ‘Flexibility’, which can be illustrated by the ability to conduct several different missions in the course of the same sortie (‘Omni-role’ capability). With this capability, it is possible to switch instantly on the demand of a political decision maker, from a coercion mission (‘strike force’) to a preventive mission (a dissuasive low-altitude, high-speed ‘show of force’), or even to cancel a mission until the last second (reversibility).
• ‘Survivability’, that is the capability to survive in a dense threat environment thanks to stealthiness and/or to advanced electronic warfare systems.

The ‘Omni-role’ Rafale combines all these advantages: it is relevant against both traditional and asymmetrical threats, it addresses the emerging needs of the armed forces in a changing geopolitical context, and it remains at the forefront of technical innovation.

Of a moderate size, yet extremely powerful, superbly agile and very discreet, the latest type of combat aircraft does not only integrate the largest and most modern range of sensors, it also multiplies their efficiency with a technological breakthrough, the ‘multi-sensor data fusion’

Combat Proven

From 2006 to 2011, French Air Force and Navy Rafale fighter were engaged in countless combat missions in Afghanistan where they demonstrated a very high proficiency and a tangible military value.

In 2011, French Air Force and French Navy Rafale fighters were successfully engaged in coalition operations over Libya. They were the first fighters to operate over Benghazi and Tripoli, and they carried out the whole spectrum of missions the Rafale was designed for: air-superiority, precision strikes with HAMMERS and laserguided bombs, deep strike with SCALP cruise missiles, intelligence, surveillance, tactical acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) and strike coordination and reconnaissance (SCAR). During the Libyan conflict, hundreds of targets – tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery emplacements, storage dumps, command centres and air defence systems (SA-3 Goa and SA-8 Gecko fixed and mobile SAM launchers) – were hit with devastating accuracy by Rafale aircrews. They have also played a leading role in Mali, helping destroy enemy infrastructure and support friendly troops in contact. More recently, Rafales were engaged in support of peace-keeping operations in the Western African Republic, and as part of a wide international coalition in Iraq.