India to finalise 114 Rafale & Pseudo satellites

The Defence Acquisition Council, the apex decision making body of the Ministry of Defence , chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on feb 12 will take a call on sourcing 114 Rafale fighter jets from France. Separately, in a push towards latest technology, the DAC is expected to okay long-endurance ‘pseudo satellites’ for surveillance. India and France are looking to seal the deal for the jets when a meeting is scheduled between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, who will be in India Feb 17-19. The IAF already flies 36 Rafale jets, while the Navy has ordered 26 marine variants of the same jet. A Rafale flight training and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility is operational at the IAF base in Ambala. The jets will be acquired under a ‘Make in India’ scheme, with Dassault Aviation — the maker of the Rafale — partnering with an Indian firm. The French plane maker will integrate of Indian weapons, missiles and ammunition on all 114 jets and will also provide secure data links to allow digital integration of the jets with Indian radars and sensors sending imagery to ground-based controllers. The DAC is also looking at solar powered High-Altitude Pseudo Satellite Vehicle (HAPS). These are solar-powered and are a high-end version of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and can operate in the stratosphere for long duration for surveillance and reconnaissance. A HAPS can operate at an altitude of about 20km, much higher than the flightpaths of commercial planes. It is considered much cheaper to deploy and operate than satellites. A launch vehicle or rocket is not needed to launch it.

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