By : "Rajkumar Padhy"
First things first, Rafale can replace 7 different types of aircraft. That means the Rafale can undertake 7 different kinds of missions which earlier required 7 different kinds of aircraft. Few of these missions can be undertaken in a single sortie. That’s why the Rafale is called an Omni-role fighter.
Rafale would “boost” India’s air power if it offers something on top of what we have in terms of our best fighter Su-30MKI. Here are a few things in consideration:
Radar Cross Section:
Rafale is a 4th generation fighter which means it is ahead of the usual 4th generation fighter but is not a fully operational 5th generation fighter. Its design incorporates stealth characteristics by using RAM (radar absorbing materials).
Stealth design features also include S-shaped engine inlets, serrated edges, and a channel exhaust cooling scheme designed to reduce infrared signature. All These gives the Rafale a radar cross-section between 0.1 - 1.0 square meters which is more than 10 times lower than a Su-30MKI which has a cross-section of 4 square meters from the front & 21 square meters from the top/bottom.
That means while the Rafale can track & hunt aircraft like the Pakistani F-16 & JF-17 & the Chinese J-11 & J-16, they can’t see the Rafale unless it comes very near to them. Thus Rafale can fire from a greater & safer distance which brings me to my next point.
Sensor suite
Rafale has an AESA radar that can hop on different frequencies and hence is very difficult to jam, still providing very good resolution. Thales RBE2-AA Radar is definitely better than any radar in PAF or PLAAF.
Rafale has advanced sensor fusion giving an integrated view of the battlefield and airspace using various sensors to the pilot.
Also, Rafale’s quantum well-infrared photodetector (IRST) can detect infrared signature at very long ranges and allows Rafale to detect aircraft without using its radar and maintaining stealth. IRST also allows Rafale to fire MICA IR at BVR ranges and is jam-proof.
Air to Air armament:
All versions of the Rafale are equipped with what is internationally known as the best beyond visual range air to air missile (BVRAAM) of the world, the Meteor Missile. It has range of over a 100 km but what makes it different is the No escape zone (NEZ) which is of 60 km. That means if fired within 60 km of the target the missile will hit the target for sure. Usually, the NEZ for contemporary missiles is of 20–25 km only.
Usually, from a longer range, the hit probability of single/dual pulse rocket motors based BVR missiles is 30–40 %. In the case of the Meteor missile, this goes to as high as 60%.
The Meteor achieves this essentially because of its propulsion system. It uses a solid-fueled ramjet motor which allows the missile to cruise at a speed of over Mach 4 and provides the missile with thrust and mid-way acceleration to target intercept. This Throttle Ducted Rocket (TDR) motor is a pinnacle of missile technology something that even India is developing as the Astra Mk3 in the form of SFDR (solid fuel ducted ramjet).
Also the missile & the aircraft “talk” to each other. A two-way datalink enables the launch of aircraft to provide mid-course target updates or re-targeting. Also, the MICA-IR/EF short-range missiles are a game-changer when the battle comes to within visual range (WVR).
Rafale comes with two major air to ground weapons:
- SCALPE-EG missile: It is a stand-off long-range cruise missile capable of hitting targets at 560 km. Now it’s not an ordinary cruise missile. Just like the aircraft the missile is also a stealth missile. It cannot be detected easily unless it comes very close to the target, at which point the target won't have anywhere to escape. Also, thanks to such a huge range targets can be hit from a faraway distance without having to invade the enemy’s surface to air defense bubbles.
- HAMMER missile: This is a bomb converted missile more optimized to attack ground targets in a shorter range where the target is low value & doesn’t necessitate firing a costly missile such as the SCALPE-EG. With a 50-70 km range, Rafale can carry 6 of these in one sortie. The Hammer being a precision-guided weapon can hit the target accurately even if they are in mountainous terrain.
This feature alone can turntables.
The Rafale is equipped with a full-fledged elaborate electronic warfare suite called SPECTRA (Self-Protection Equipment Countering Threats to Rafale Aircraft). The system incorporates a radar warning receiver, laser warning, and Missile Approach Warning for threat detection plus a phased array radar jammer and a decoy dispenser for threat countering.
Thanks to the SPECTRA suite, the Rafale can operate in a high electronic jamming environment where the enemy radars are on a constant lookout for fighters. This is a proven system & had proven its worth during Rafale’s operation in the Middle east.
The Su-30MKI also has similar subsystems but there is no one to one comparison between the two. The Su-30MKI uses an Israeli Jammer, DRDO Tarang Radar warning receiver & a similar mixture of equipment from different nations.
Carrying capacity:
Even after being a medium category aircraft, the Rafale carries more load than a Su-30MKI. The Rafale can carry almost 9.5 tons of external armament & fuel against 8 tons of Su-30MKI. The aircraft are seldom loaded in full capacity but this shows the thrust availability of the engines.
Also, the Rafale is capable enough to perform a nuclear strike & is one of the very few aircraft in our inventory to perform the aerial nuclear strike role. This is certainly a welcome boost to the IAF as it reinforces the Nuclear Triad.
Rafale’s Safran M88 engines can supercruise at Mach 1.4 with missiles and there is no fighter in PAF or PLAAF that has this capability.
Availability:
According to the deal with Dassault, the company is responsible for the maintenance & support of the aircraft in such a way that it is their responsibility to make at least 75% of the fleet available for flying at any given point of time throughout its service life.
In comparison, only 60% of the entire Su-30MKI fleet is ready for operations at any time. This is due to the radar which requires servicing every 150 hours of flight, the engines which require overhaul at every 1000 hours & the titanium nozzle at every 500 hours. This increases the maintenance requirement of the Sukhoi fleet.
The Rafale’s fleet does not have these issues & most of the major servicing is carried out by Dassault which is another welcome boost for the IAF.
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