India's air force is confident its Dassault Rafale multirole fighter aircraft will have the measure of planes sent against it by the People's Liberation Army Air Force and the Pakistan Air Force.
India says the deployment of five of its Dassault Rafale aircraft close to Ladakh is, at present, mostly symbolic. A June 15 clash their resulted in the deaths of Indian and Chinese soldiers.
If engaged in combat over Ladakh India's Rafales expect to be challenged by China's Shenyang J-11 Flanker-L twin-engine air superiority fighter which is based on the Sukhoi Su-27 and the Shenyang J-16 tandem-seat, multirole strike fighter.
China may also deploy it alleged "stealth" air superiority fighter, the Chengdu J-20. Just 50 J-20s are known to have been built.
"Rafale is far superior to the J-20, the Chengdu fighter of China," a former IAF commander said. "Even though it's marketed as a fifth-generation jet (the J-20) is probably, at best, a 3.5-generation aircraft. It's got a third-generation engine as we have in the (Russian-made) Sukhoi (Su-30MKI)."
The first five of 36 Rafales arrived at the Ambala Air Force Station in northern India on July 29 after a two-day flight from Merignac, France. Ambala Air Force Station will be home to the 16-strong first squadron of Dassault Rafales. Located in Haryana, about 200 kilometres from the Pakistan and China borders, Ambala is only 300 miles from the Indian territory of Ladakh.
India's air force will deploy the second Rafale squadron to Hasimara Air Force Station in Alipurduar district, West Bengal. Hasimara is near the Indo-Bhutan border facing China.
India signed a deal with France to buy 36 Rafale fighters in September 2016. The Rafales, a supermaneuverable, single-seat, twin-engine fighter, can carry Air-Sol Moyenne Portee nuclear missiles. In service with the French Air Force the missile is a medium-range air-to-surface weapon.
Rafale's conventional air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons include a mix of the most modern weapons in these classes. A Rafale can deploy the R.550 Magic II short-range air-to-air missile and the MBDA MICA IR or EM multitarget, fire-and-forget short- and medium-range missile.
For long range a Rafale can use the MBDA Meteor - a ramjet-powered, radar-guided, beyond visual range missile with a range of more than 80 kilometres. All Rafales carry a single 30-millimetre GIAT 30/M791 autocannon.
Its air-to-ground weapons include the MBDA Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG low-observable air-launched cruise missile and the MBDA Apache air-launched anti-runway cruise missile. It can also launch the Paveway series of laser-guided bombs.
