SOURCE – THE HINDU
GS PAPER – 3
CONTEXT :
The formal induction ceremony of the Rafael fighter jets will be held at Ambala air force station on September 10.
ABOUT RAFALE FIGHTER JETS
- The Rafael’s are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia
- the Rafael is a French twin-engine and multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation being produced for both the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations in the French Navy
- the Rafael is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction (act of disrupting), aerial reconnaissance (observation to locate an enemy), ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions
- The ability to strike air-to-air targets from up to 150 km away and safely hit land targets 300 km within enemy territory make them some of the deadliest fighter jets flying in the world.
- The aircraft has 30,000 flight hours in operations.
- The aircraft is fitted with an on-board oxygen generation system (OBOGS)
Why Ambala is chosen for Rafael ?
According to Indian Air Force officials, Ambala was chosen for housing Rafales in the western sector due to several factors such as
1.Depth from the border.
2.Base Infrastructure
3.Technical facilities
4.Airspace availability for local flying
5.The Ambala base is also far enough from India’s adversaries to thwart their surveillance gathering attempts