New Delhi, February 19 (HS): Out of the 36 Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force, 10 aircraft will soon be equipped with mid-air refueling technology. With the acquisition of this technology, the range of the aircraft will also increase and they can be deployed to a greater distance. The Air Force will receive ground-based equipment and software upgrades for refueling capability. The Indian Navy is also buying 26 Rafale Marine Jets from France, which are also capable of air-to-ground and air-to-air attacks.

India has acquired 36 Rafale fighter jets from France for the Air Force, for which two squadrons have been formed at Ambala Airbase and Hashimara Airbase in West Bengal. Amid the standoff with China over the LAC, India has deployed Rafale fighter jets at the front-line airbase in Ladakh. Apart from this, the Hashimara Airbase Squadron in West Bengal has been entrusted with the responsibility of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) from Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh. The Hashimara base is very close to the same disputed Doklam area, where a 75-day long confrontation took place between the armies of India and China in the year 2017.

Despite all 36 Rafales of India being operational, they did not have the technology of mid-air refueling. Now the Indian Navy is buying 26 Rafale marine aircraft to enhance the capabilities of the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The Rafale marine jet deal worth more than Rs 60 thousand crore with France will also help in upgrading the refueling and other capabilities of the 36 Rafale fleet of the Indian Air Force. After this, 10 out of the 36 Rafale fighter jets of the Air Force will soon be equipped with mid-air refueling technology. The Indian Air Force will be able to refuel its Rafale jets mid-air using this technology.

The deal for the Navy will allow the IAF to upgrade the software of its Rafale fleet and get a lot of ground equipment to aid operations, defence sources said. Under the government-to-government deal, the Navy will get 22 single-seater and four twin-seater Rafale marine jets and will need to install a lot of equipment on the carrier to operate the 4.5 plus generation Rafales from its deck. The Navy currently operates the MiG-29K, which is to be operated only from INS Vikramaditya in the near future.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar