Thunder at 100 feet: Flying France's Rafale Superfighter
NDTV's Vishnu Som recently got a chance to fly the French Rafale - one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world.
-
What makes the Rafale experience different is the level of automation, the incredible man-machine interface and the highly fused sensor suite the French top gun employs. In simple terms, the Rafale does the same job with more precision and safety for the pilot.
-
Dassault, the manufacturers of the Rafale are presently in top-secret negotiations with the Defence Ministry to arrive at a final price among a host of details bound to accompany what has been labelled the world's biggest defence deal, easily worth more than 15 billion dollars for 126 jets.
-
When the Rafale eventually enters frontline squadron service with the Indian Air Force (assuming negotiations actually end up in a contract), the IAF may well become the most potent Air Force in the world this side of the United States, all within the next 15 years.
