The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to resurrect the 101 “Falcons of Chamb” squadron at Hashimara in West Bengal, with another batch of four Rafale fighters arriving from Merignac-Bordeaux airbase in France on May 19-20. Advance units have already moved into the new base.
While the exact date of the Rafale’s arrival in India will be determined by the availability of UAE Air Force mid-air refuellers and weather conditions, it is clear that all 36 aircraft will be delivered well before April 2022, as Union defence minister Rajnath Singh announced in Parliament. The IAF will have 24 Rafale fighter jets in India by the end of May, with another seven being kept in France for training purposes and only five more to be handed over before the two squadrons are complete.
The last five aircraft may be delivered in the second-half of 2021 as Egypt has placed an order of 30 Rafale fighters.
The home base of second squadron is getting readied at Hashimara with repaved extended runways, ammunition depots, blast pens and personnel accommodation apart from maintenance bays. “The Hashimara air base has been totally revamped and should be operational by end of this month. This will be the peace time location of the aircraft but in war times, the fighters will operate from anywhere in the country as per war plans,” said an Air Marshal.
With India likely to buy more front-line fighters to meet the stalled requirement for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), the French have not only offered hot engine technology to India, but are also willing to collaborate on the Atmanirbhar Bharat route to develop an extended range and capability Hammer air-to-ground missile. Safran, a French engine manufacturer, has already made an offer to collaborate on aircraft engines with a thrust of up to 100 Kilo Newtons and to share hot engine technology that India’s western allies are reluctant to share.
France has also offered to share and develop technology for a longer-range, heavier Highly Agile and Manoeuvrable Munition Extended Range (Hammer) missile, which is currently included in the Indian Rafale’s weapons package. The Hammer weapon has a range of over 70 kilometres and can be guided on to the target using GPS, Inertial Navigation, and an infrared seeker, as well as the ability to adjust to target location mid-flight using maps for course correction. This weapon’s most recent version includes a 1,000 kilogramme bomb and laser guidance technology.
“The Rafale package is a game-changer in the region as none of India’s adversaries have such capability to wage war beyond visual range,” said an IAF Air Marshal.
