Know everything about Rafale Marine that India is set to buy from France

New Delhi:  As India is all set to acquire 26 Rafale Marine fighter jets from France for Indian Navy during Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's ongoing visit to Paris, the curiosity is to know about how theses jets will be different from the 36 Rafale fighter jets that was bought from the French aerospace major Dassault Aviation in recent years.

Contrary to land based fighters that operate from conventional runways, any naval fighter jet is specifically built to withstand the unique challenges of aircraft carrier-based operations, including high-impact landings, catapult or ramp launches, and corrosive saltwater environments. It has reinforced landing gear, stronger airframes, and folding wings to facilitate storage and manoeuvring on aircraft carriers.

According to media reports, Rafale-M has a strengthened undercarriage and a “jump strut” nosewheel that expands during short takeoffs, such as catapult launches. Equipped with a microwave landing system, the naval version of Rafale has a “fin-tip Telemir system for syncing the inertial navigation system”, the newspaper added. 

The Rafale-M has a nosegear-mounted catapult hook which will “enable the aircraft to be aligned and correctly tensioned, ready for catapulting, increasing launch speed and eliminating the need for deck crew to work under the aircraft,” according to the FlightGlobal article. 

The fighter jet has a tailhook or arresting hook to stop the plane during landings. 

Both Rafale-M and IAF’s Rafale aircraft are multirole fighter jets. According to the Dassault website, Air Force’s single-seat Rafale-C and two-seat Rafale-B and navy’s Rafale-M have the same maximum airframe as well as similar mission capabilities.

As per reports, while Rafales are identical, there are some variations. The naval version has a “longer, more strengthened nose” and reinforced undercarriage. 

The maritime version of Rafale operates from aircraft carriers. Rafale-M fighters would operate from the flight deck of indigenously designed aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant.

Rafale-M has a different radar system, Thales RBE2-M, which is designed for maritime operations. Its electronic warfare suite, the Thales SPECTRA, is also different.

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