By Admin 
The Indian Air Force is preparing to buy 114 new Rafales from France to fulfill the shortage of fighter jets in its fleet. The Defense Ministry is engaged in deep brainstorming regarding this. There is speculation that this deal may be sealed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India next month. Meanwhile, India has taken important steps towards strengthening its defense capabilities.
India is preparing to equip its fleet of fighter jets purchased from France with indigenous air-to-air Astra MK1 and Astra MK2 Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missiles (BVRAM). Testing regarding this will start in the next two years i.e. by 2028.
Su-30MKI and Tejas fighter jets also equipped with Astra
According to defense news website Defense.in, this initiative is an important part of the Indian Air Force’s roadmap to increase operational flexibility while promoting self-reliance in defense technology. Let us tell you that Astra MK1, which is already equipped in fighter jets like Sukhoi-30MKI and LCA Tejas, provides a strike range of more than 100 kilometers.
Astra MK2 will increase firepower
Not only this, in the coming time, Rafale and Sukhoi-30 will also be upgraded with Astra MK2, due to which their range will increase from 100 km to 160 km. Along with this, this missile will compete with missiles like Meteor made by European countries. According to defense sources, the fighter jet and its manufacturers Dassault Aviation and Thales have agreed to provide necessary technical support for this programme.
Their participation is crucial to develop specific software upgrades that enable Indian missiles to effectively coordinate with Rafale’s advanced RBE2 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and its combat management system. This cooperation ensures that the fighter jet can fully utilize the guidance and targeting capabilities of the Astra missiles. It will have to go through many stages before going into a war-like situation.
Tension between China and Pakistan will increase!
As soon as the news of upgrade of Rafale fighter jets is heard, the tension of Pakistan as well as China is going to increase. In fact, the way India is equipping its fighter jets with missiles like Astra, such technology is also used by European countries and America. Therefore, upgrading Indian indigenous missiles will make Rafale even more dangerous.