HUGE BOOST! India to take delivery of Rafale fighter jets sooner than expected - Details inside

Pune: Amid fresh tensions with its neighbour, India hopes to take delivery of the fourth generation Rafale fighter jets from France sooner than expected.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar dropped that hint during a rally here on Sunday. "As per the terms of the deal, it is 36 months, but it may come earlier slightly," Parrikar told the media on the sidelines of “Swachhta” rally.

India had inked a deal with France on September 23 to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets. The early arrival of the jets assumes significance as India is hoping to replace or retire a significant number of its old fighter jets.

India will spend 7.8 billion euros for the jets.

The deal was signed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Yves Le Drian after extensive negotiations between the two sides.

The development came after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) gave the green signal.

The Rafale jets will give a crucial boost to the Indian Air Force.

Parrikar had said that the number of the fighter jets were "on path of coming to conclusion".

Both sides had hoped to wrap up the order during French President Francois Hollande's visit to India during the Republic Day celebrations this year, but the bargaining over the price had stalled the process.

Why the French fighter jet is the best choice for a dogfight:

The features that make the Rafale a strategic weapon is its Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Meteor air-to-air missile with a range in excess of 150 km.

Here is a comparative study of the features between Rafale and the US-made F-16 in possession of Pakistan. (With inputs from quora.com)

Rafale:

- Rafale can fly up to 2,000 nautical miles at a stretch.

- The maximum cruise altitude is 50,000 feet.

- The rate of climb is 60,000 feet per minute.

- Cruise speed long range is 1,032 knots.

- Cruise speed normal range 750 knots.

- Max speed winner is Rafale 579 knots.

The Rafale reaches a maximum speed that is 410 knots faster than the F-16.

- Maximum thrust is 34,000 (lbf / pound-force)

Rafale produces 5,000 more pound-forces of thrust than the F-16.

- Take-off Weight for Rafale is 54,000 (lbs)

- Exterior Dimensions: Height 17.52 feet., wingspan 35.43 feet, total length 50.10 feet.

Rafale is 0.79 feet longer than the F-16.

Rafale has a 2.62 foot wider wingspan than the F-16.

Rafale is 0.82 feet taller than the F-16.

Avionics make & model: Thales RBE2-AA AESA radar Thales SPECTRA Electronic Warfare system. Thales/SAGEM-OSF Optronique Sec

Armament: Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) GIAT 30/M791 autocannon with 125 rounds

Hardpoints: 14 for Air Force versions (Rafale B/C), 13 for Navy version (Rafale M) with a capacity of 9,500 kg (20,900 lb) external fuel and ordnance and provisions to carry combinations of:

Missiles:

Air-to-air:

MBDA MICA IR or EM or Magic II and

MBDA Meteor in the future

Air-to-ground:

MBDA Apache or

MBDA Storm Shadow-SCALP EG or

AASM-Hammer or

GBU-12 Paveway II, GBU-22 Paveway III or GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II

GBU-24 Paveway III

AS-30L

Air-to-surface:

MBDA AM 39-Exocet anti-ship missile

MBDA CVS401-Perseus in the future

Deterrence:

ASMP-A nuclear missile

Other:

Thales Damocles targeting pod

Thales AREOS (Airborne Recce Observation System) reconnaissance pod

Thales TALIOS multi-function targeting pod in the future (F3R Standard)[citation needed]

Up to 5 drop tanks

Buddy-buddy refuelling pod

Pakistan's F-16:

- US F-16 can fly 2,280 nautical miles.

- The maximum cruise altitude is 50,000 feet.

- The rate of climb is 60,000 feet per minute.

- Cruise speed long range is 1,303 knots.

- Cruise speed normal range is 330 knots.

- Maximum thrust is 29,000 (lbf / pound-force)

- Take-off Weight for F-16 is 54,000 (lbs)

- The F-16 weights 6,000 pounds less than the Rafale.

- Exterior Dimensions: Height 16.70 feet., wingspan 32.83 feet, total length 49.31 feet.

- Avionics make & model: Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems

Armament:

Guns: 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel Gatling cannon, 511 rounds

Hardpoints: 2 × wing-tip Air-to-air missile launch rails, 6 × under-wing, and 3 × under-fuselage pylon (2 of 3 for sensors) stations with a capacity of Up to 17,000 lb (7,700 kg) of stores

Rockets:

4 × LAU-61/LAU-68 rocket pods (each with 19/7 × Hydra 70 mm rockets, respectively)

4 × LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19 × CRV7 70 mm rockets)

4 × LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4 × Zuni 127 mm rockets)

Missiles:

Air-to-air missiles:

2 × AIM-7 Sparrow

6 × AIM-9 Sidewinder

6 × AIM-120 AMRAAM

6 × IRIS-T

6 × Python-4

Air-to-ground missiles:

6 × AGM-65 Maverick

4 × AGM-88 HARM

AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM)

Anti-ship missiles:

2 × AGM-84 Harpoon

4 × AGM-119 Penguin

Bombs:

8 × CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition

8 × CBU-89 Gator mine

8 × CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon

4 × Mark 84 general-purpose bombs

8 × Mark 83 GP bombs

12 × Mark 82 GP bombs

8 × GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB)

4 × GBU-10 Paveway II

6 × GBU-12 Paveway II

4 × GBU-24 Paveway III

4 × GBU-27 Paveway III

4 × Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) series

4 × AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)

Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD)

B61 nuclear bomb

B83 nuclear bomb

Others:

SUU-42A/A Flares/Infrared decoys dispenser pod and chaff pod or

AN/ALQ-131 & AN/ALQ-184 ECM pods or

LANTIRN, Lockheed Martin Sniper XR & LITENING targeting pods or

Up to 3 × 300/330/370/600 US gallon Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight/extended range/loitering time or

UTC Aerospace DB-110 long range EO/IR sensor pod on centerline