Page 12 - World Airnews Magazine April 2020 Edition

MILITARY MILITARY

WHY INDIA MIGHT FLY

FRENCH DASSAULT

RAFALESIN THE NEAR

FUTURE

By David Axe
SANDF ARMED FORCES

ockheed Martin is developing a new DEMONSTRATION
Lvariant of its iconic F-16 single-engine

fighter in order to compete in India’s 2019
tender for 110 new warplanes. By Pieter Cronje
According to journalist Angad Singh, the
likely winner is French company Dassault’s A Rooivalk Attack Helicopter of the SAAF against the

Rafale twin-engine fighter and he explained setting sky at the SADF Capability Demonstration

his rationale in May last year.

India previously ordered 36 Rafales as

part of an earlier fighter tender. firing power display. But it was still very providing excitement to the invited guests.

“With 36 aircraft already on order and impressive. The SAAF component of four Hawks first

the infrastructure in place for an additional he SADF commemorates Armed The display started early afternoon alter- coming in to release four bombs each.

36, a case could certainly be made that TForces Day on 21 February each nating between the SA Army and SAAF. These were followed by the Gripens doing

training; basing and sustainment costs for year. This date has been chosen in memory It was at times difficult to keep track what the same, with the Hawks again coming in

additional aircraft would not be an impossi- of the tragic sinking of the SS Mendi, and to look at, action taking place simultane- with canon fire.

ble burden.” the even more tragic loss of life due to the ously to the left, right and centre of the dis- The Rooivalk attack helicopter was also

Other candidates for the Indian tender sinking. This commemoration takes place play area. This was compounded by action used twice to fire unguided rockets, and

are the Saab Gripen from Sweden, the in a different province each year. on the ground and in the sky. their last display of the day, demonstrating

European Eurofighter Typhoon, the MiG-35 This year it was held in Limpopo with The SA Army display consisted of airborne the use of its 20mm canon, and a flare

from Russia and the Boeing Super Hornet Polokwane chosen as the main point of special forces landing by parachute, and troops release.

from the United States. Whichever fighter activities. being landed by helicopters of the SAAF. The day light display was closed late

New Delhi selects, it needs the new jets Several days of aerial fighting followed although it shares many of its major One of these activities was the Armed Forc- These were complimented over the day afternoon with an evening firing display

now, according to Singh. the bombing raid. On February 27 last year features with the F-16V the company has es Capability Display held at the SAAF bomb- by Olifant (Elephant) tanks, Rooikat Recon- starting after sundown.
“The government-approved strength of Pakistani F-16s and other planes crossed sold to Bahrain, Greece, Slovakia, South ing range at Roodewal, north of Polokwane. naissance vehicles, various models of the This consisted of a colourful if loud

the Indian Air Force, given the country’s the line of control to attack Indian forces, Korea and Taiwan. Lockheed can build The arrangements made for the event Ratel AFV, and other armoured vehicles. display by various elements of the SA Army,
well-publicised security scenario and New Delhi claimed. Indian MiG-21s and new F-16Vs or upgrade older F-16s to the was done by the SA Army, it was a com- These vehicles were also used to demon- with the day being closed by a Gripen doing

the possibility of a ‘two-front’ threat of other fighters intercepted the Pakistanis V-standard. bined demonstration of the capabilities of strate the individual capabilities of the a low and fast fly past and release of flares.

combined Pakistani and Chinese air action and shot down one plane, according to the Still, renaming the F-16V isn't only the SA Army and SAAF. vehicles, with the Olifant tank driving over An Oryx helicopter doing the similarly fol-

to the west and northeast, is 42 fighter Indian government. semantic. An F-16V or F-21 is a radically Although the range is about 5km by 7 a car wreck. lowed and ended the day’s activities with a

squadrons,” Singh stated. The US government reportedly count- different warplane compared to the F-16A km, it was not large enough to have a full The SAAF display lacked nothing in wall of fire. Q

“There is little clarity on how this exact ed Pakistan’s F-16s after the battle and that first flew in 1978. The F-16A is a nim-

number was arrived at, but nonetheless, concluded that none was missing, casting ble, eight-ton fighter with unsophisticated
the IAF hasn’t come close to this strength doubt on New Delhi’s claim. radar and short-range weapons. The F-16V

for two decades, and has never approached Islamabad stated its forces shot down weighs 10 tons, boasts cutting-edge radar

anything near a force entirely equipped two Indian MiG-21s, but New Delhi copped and other sensors and carries a wide array

with modern aircraft,” he stated. to losing just one jet. Pakistani forces cap- of long-range weaponry, all at the cost of
In 2019 the Indian air force maintained tured the MiG-21 pilot, Wing Commander manoeuvrability.

just 30 fighters squadrons. The units Abhinandan Varthaman and held him for Lockheed initially implied India could fol-

operate, among other plane types, 244 two days before handing him over to Indian low an acquisition of F-21s with a separate

1960s-vintage MiG-21s and 84 MiG-27s officials. purchase of the company's F-35 stealth

that are only slightly younger. The MiG-21s, Now New Delhi wants to spend around fighters.

in particular, are accident-prone. Since the (US) $18 billion acquiring 110 new fighters "The F-21 has common components and

first of 874 MiG-21s entered Indian service to replace the old MiGs. The new planes learning from Lockheed Martin’s fifth-gen-

in 1963, around 490 have crashed, killing would fly alongside European-designed eration F-22 and F-35 and will share a
around 200 pilots. Jaguars, French Mirage 2000s and Rafales, common supply chain on a variety of com-
But the MiG-21s remain active. In Russian MiG-29s and Su-30s and India's ponents," Lockheed stated on its website

February last year Indian planes crossed own indigenous Tejas fighter in what last year. Very soon that claim disappeared
the line of control at India's border with Lockheed described as "the world’s largest from the site.

Pakistan and bombed what New Dehli fighter aircraft ecosystem." Despite Lockheed’s stealth tease, the An Olifant (Elephant) tank of the SADF also

described as a terrorist training camp For the purposes of Lockheed's market- French Rafale might be the frontrunner in demonstrating it's mobility capabilities and

near Balakot. ing campaign, the F-21 is a new fighter, the Indian fighter contest. Q psychological impact on the battle front
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