Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief B S Dhanoa on Monday said after Rafale jets come in India, the nation’s air defence will get a major boost and Pakistan won’t dare to come near the Line of Control (LoC) or the international border. Dhanoa said Rafale jets will the best combat aircraft in the Indian sub-continent. He added saying that once the Rafale jets are inducted, they will ensure that the deterrence of the IAF. In an exclusive talk with ANI on Rafale’s air-to air capability in a combat situation, the IAF Chief said, “When the Rafale comes in, India will possess that kind of capability for which presently they (Pakistan) don’t have an answer”.
The first Rafale aircraft under a 36-plane deal with France is scheduled to be delivered in September to the IAF. “We are going to get Rafale in the month of September. Rafale will give a tremendous jump to our capability and it is superior to all the aircraft in the inventory of both our adversaries,” he said.
The Rafales will be armed with Meteor air-to-air missiles which have the capability of shooting down enemy planes at strikes ranges upto 150 kms. On the side-lines of a function organised for the induction of four US-made Chinook helicopters in Chandigarh, Dhanoa also outlined the salient features of the Chinook helicopters and said that these aircraft will be very useful for the IAF in high-altitude regions.
Dhanoa asserted that at present, Rafale is going to be the best aircraft in terms of the weapons capability in the Indian sub-continent and would be also the best in comparison with what China and Pakistan have. In his address during his visit to the Air Force Station at Jodhpur in 2018, he had said, “Rafale is always a need for the Air Force. It (fighter jets) took a long time to come. Others have upgraded their squadrons.”
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