World’s biggest French kiss-IAF picks Rafale for deal that can reshape Europe’s defence industry

The Telegraph, India ^ | February 1 , 2012 | SUJAN DUTTA

[spetznaz]

Now, back to the Rafale vs the Eurofighter for India. Either of the two airframes would have been a great choice for the Indian Airforce and India’s national security. They are both some of, if not the, most advanced active generation 4.5 fighters in the world, with some avionics packages that are gen 5. For both of them the critical factor that prevents them from being gen 5 airframes are their approach to stealth, with both lacking passive stealth characteristics that can be seen in aircraft like the F-22, F-35, T-50 prototype and J-20 prototype. There was actually a very interesting article, from the same Eurofighter-affiliated magazine I referred to earlier, that had the Eurofighter chaps showing how the Typhoon is ‘more of a 5th generation platform than the F-35.’ Sukhoi-30MKI had linked to the article sometime in 2011. Anyways, Eurofighter PR aside, either of the two planes would have worked well for India. However, there has to be a winner! India will be operating, in the next ten years, the PakFa (a 5th generation fighter that in air-to-air will be a superlative machine), and the Super SU-30 MKI (the upgraded MKI with AESA radar that will be very good in air-to-air). India will already be well covered in the aerial game. Adding the Eurofighter to the mix wouldn’t really be adding much value (and to quote what you had said earlier, but changing the Rafale for the Eurofighter, the Typhoon would be a ’VERY EXPENSIVE plane that does not give any massive advantage to justify its enormously exorbitant cost').

As an example, it would be like the US buying the Eurofighter Typhoon for the USAF when they already have the F-22 and upgraded AESA-enabled F-15s. Ok, it is a nice plane, but it is adding a component that is already well covered.

Where India has deficiencies is in strike capabilities …proper first class strike capabilities. The Rafale shines brightly here, with a carry capacity that is astounding (almost F-15 level), and some very sophisticated avionics. Add to this the fact that in air-to-air it can perform as well as the Eurofighter (and even though on paper the Eurofighter is better due to its bigger nose that can accommodate a bigger radar and its higher maneuverability above certain speeds - based on actual evaluations the Rafale has performed better, which is quite ironic considering what a certain magazine says). The Rafale gives India several advantages – a superlative strike capability, extremely advanced avionics, an air-to-air capability that is functionally (i.e. in the real world and not just paper stats) as good as that of the Eurofighter, a more mature platform (the Eurofighter development program depended a lot on India signing up, with India expected to provide a good share of AESA developments, TVC work, and, if necessary, a navalized platform – but the Rafale is ahead of the Typhoon program). At a cheaper price.