Rafael - The Essence of Indian Air Force

 

The new era of Rafael in Indian took off when the France Defense Minister, Florence Parly attended the Rafael Induction Ceremony. And now the warrior Rafael has become a part of the Indian Air Force. 

The Indian Army was already very capable of a nuclear attack always, but with the strength of Bahubali Rafael, the Indian Air Force is now overpowered in its resources. In a tweet, the air force welcomed Rafael, the ‘new bird’ into its arsenal. The induction ceremony of Rafael was marked by performing a traditional Sarva Dharma Puja and an aerial display featuring some breathtaking movements by the aircraft.

The first batch of five jets arrived in India on 29th July, which is nearly four years after signing an inter-governmental agreement with France to acquire 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs. 59000 crores. So far, 10 Rafael jets have been delivered to India, and five of them are procured back in France to impart training for IAF pilots. The delivery of all the 36 jets is estimated to be completed by the ending of 2021. 

These aircraft are India’s first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years since the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia. Read more about the Sukhoi Jets 

 

Historical Significance

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., commonly known as Rafael, is basically an Israeli defense technology company. It was first founded as Israel’s National R&D Defense Laboratory for advanced development of military technology and weapons within the Israeli Ministry of Defense and in 2002 it was consolidated as a limited company. 

Rafael primarily produces and further develops the weapons, military and technological aspects of defense for the Israel Defense Forces and for exporting over abroad. Rafael was first established in 1948 as the Science Corps under the supervising authority of Shlomo Gur. It was renamed in 1952 as the Research and Design Directorate and it got its recognition as Rafael in 1958.

Rafael was falling at a loss during the early 1990s and hence it opted for restructuring the organization and started operating Rafael as a distinguished company. Initially, the company had three separate divisions, each serving as a profit center, with a separate balance sheet presented to the newly formed board of management. Then the restructuring was finally completed in 2002 and Rafael was integrated as a limited company officially.

 Technological Milestones

1. Shafrir, which was later renamed Python. It is one of the most successful air to air missiles ever made to date.

2. Spike, which is a fourth-generation missile is the fire and forget anti-tank guided missile.

3. Popeye- An air to ground missile system.

4. Popeye Turbo SLCM has been recognized to be a nuclear-tipped submarine-launched cruise missile.

5. Iron Dome- It is the world’s first operational air defense system for intercepting artillery shells and short-range rockets.

6. Trophy- It’s the world’s second operational active protection system, which successfully destroyed an anti-tank missile that launched from the Gaza Strip towards a Merkava Mark IV tank near Nir Oz.

7. The world’s first operational unmanned surface vehicle named Protector USV.

8. David’s Sling is a surface to air missile system.

 

Features of Rafael Making It the Deadliest Fighter Jet

Here are the features of Rafael about how it can give India a better edge of the sky.

1. Fighter Jet of Fourth Generation- It is a fourth-generation jet that has both twin generation engines and delta-wing.

2. Power of stacking five planes of enemies- The biggest feature of Rafael is beyond visual range air to air missile. The range is more than 150 km.

2. Power of Rafael- The power of any jet is dependent upon the technology and sensor capability and weapons of that aircraft. Rafael in this case is a very modern powerful aircraft as compared to any of the other fighter jets.

3. Combat radius- This radius means the distance a fighter plane can go beyond its base at once. For Rafael, the combat radius is 3.7 thousand kilometers.

4. Bombs and missiles- Complementary 6 laser-guided missiles can also be fitted with three other types of deadly missiles in Rafael.

5. Powerful engine- The jet has a more reliable and powerful M-88 engine.

6. Strength to carry more weapons and fuel- It can lift 1.5 times more weight than its weight whereas J-20 can lift only 1.2 times and because of that Rafael can carry more fuel and weapons with it. 

7. Battlefield readiness- Rafael is disposed of in the French Air Force and Navy for the last 14 years and it has shown its ability on the battlefield.

Check out this amazing article on Insights on J-20 v/s Rafael if you are looking for more insights.

 

The End Line

The ability of Rafael for striking air to air targets up to 150 kilometers away and safely hitting the land targets 300 kilometers within the enemy territory make India’s Rafael jets some of the deadliest fighter jets in the world. It means that if an Indian Rafael takes off from Ambala will be able to launch on the weapons from a well-equipped distance within airspace to hit a target deep inside China. 

The Indian Air Force is also occupying a new generation medium-range modular air to ground weapon system hammer to integrate with the Rafael jets. “If it is anyone who should be worried about or critical about this new capability of the Indian Air Force, it should be those who want to threaten our territorial integrity”, said Mr. Singh. 

Here are the 5 facts about the Indian Armed Forces that you might not know.

Written By - Pavas Shrigyan

Edited By - Neha Kundu