The main challenges in inducting the Rafale to the IAF will be training and

[SamantK]

A wonderful article, the subtle lurking experience is awesome... Many american authors, especially JJ Tellis, who critisized Indian decision as a failure in the strategic part fail to understand the underlying Indian Piolts and the crew. As always our Armed forces are first rate and are in a different league! Reading his expeirences made my day!

 

[Abingdonboy]

Yes the task in front of IAF is significant but not something they are not more than capable to handle. After all it's not like the IAF has faced similar scenarios in the past when it has inducted any new piece of equipment especially fighters. There are dedicated units within the IAF designated to handle such processes I believe they are called "transition" teams or something a bit more long-winded than that. A good point made by the article is the scale of the task in pure numbers, thousands of engineers, weapons techs, ground handlers and the like are going to have to be trained up in a pretty short period of time not to mention hundreds of fighter jocks, again the IAF is more than capable of doing so and plans for meeting the demand have been in place for some time not to mention AF bases have already been designated to base the first MMRCA SQDs and infrastructure is being put in place (as part of the much wider plan by IAF to upgrade all AF bases). A key aspect will be to fully develop tactics and fully utilize the potential of the platform, that is why the first 4-5 Rafales delivered to IAF in 2014-5 will be delivered to the elite IAF TACDE institution so they can properly create the fighting and operational doctrine for IAF SQDs operating the plane. To this end a few TACDE pilots will be sent to Dassualt soon after any deal is signed to be the first IAF pilots trained on the machine and will subsequently spend some time with the FrAF operating the Rafale before coming back to India in time for induction and their turn in pushing the machine. Btw this process of evaluation by TACDE is a VERY extensive process and will most likely take 2-3 years (MKI only completed this process in 2007/8 if I remember correctly).

 

[Aryavart]

Great article, it points out to me that the Rafale multi role fighter was picked up to counter JF-17 this is a great honour for the Sino-pakistani fighter plane. on top of that India will face a giant challenge to have competent personnel to handle the maintenance and to absorb the technology of the rafale, pointing again to the fact that Pakistan is far more technologically advanced than India.

please dont fart here , dont make us feel like pakistan is full of mungeri laal

 

[SamantK]

Yes the task in front of IAF is significant but not something they are not more than capable to handle. After all it's not like the IAF has faced similar scenarios in the past when it has inducted any new piece of equipment especially fighters. There are dedicated units within the IAF designated to handle such processes I believe they are called "transition" teams or something a bit more long-winded than that. A good point made by the article is the scale of the task in pure numbers, thousands of engineers, weapons techs, ground handlers and the like are going to have to be trained up in a pretty short period of time not to mention hundreds of fighter jocks, again the IAF is more than capable of doing so and plans for meeting the demand have been in place for some time not to mention AF bases have already been designated to base the first MMRCA SQDs and infrastructure is being put in place (as part of the much wider plan by IAF to upgrade all AF bases). A key aspect will be to fully develop tactics and fully utilize the potential of the platform, that is why the first 4-5 Rafales delivered to IAF in 2014-5 will be delivered to the elite IAF TACDE institution so they can properly create the fighting and operational doctrine for IAF SQDs operating the plane. To this end a few TACDE pilots will be sent to Dassualt soon after any deal is signed to be the first IAF pilots trained on the machine and will subsequently spend some time with the FrAF operating the Rafale before coming back to India in time for induction and their turn in pushing the machine. Btw this process of evaluation by TACDE is a VERY extensive process and will most likely take 2-3 years (MKI only completed this process in 2007/8 if I remember correctly).

Thanks for sharing those points, really did not know about these things....

 

[chanikya]

please dont fart here , dont make us feel like pakistan is full of mungeri laal

hei brother, atleast let them boost themselves because no other country will do that.

 

[Dash]

It will be a challenge but not an obstacle. Who doesnt have challenges.

 

[sancho]

It will be a challenge but not an obstacle. Who doesnt have challenges.

Actually the challange is, that so many new fighters comes in, not that Rafale comes in. The selction of Rafale was even the best choice for IAF, when it comes to ease of induction (besides the Mig), because of the commonality to Mirage in terms of training and logistics. Similarly, HAL will benefit a lot from upgrading Mirage in regard to the production of Rafale.
Also operating Rafale will be even easier for IAF, with the very good experience of Mirage 2000, because Rafale is not only more capable in terms of range or payload, but was developed with better maintenance requirments than the M2K. Here are some interesting points, especially when we take the notes of the Air Vice Marshal into account as well:

...Back home, the aircraft are supported by the Centre de Maintenance Rafale 15.007 (15.007 Rafale Maintenance Centre), which has around 120 technicians at St. Dizier — a 27 percent reduction of the personnel required to support a similar-sized fleet of Dassault Mirage 2000B/C/D/N/-5F combat aircraft.

For Col. Moussez, the big change for the Rafale, compared to other combat aircraft in the AdlA fleet, has been the elimination of scheduled maintenance: "The aircraft has an ‘on-the-way’ maintenance concept. There’s no more scheduled maintenance on the airframe which makes for a lot of savings."

The removal of scheduled maintenance was a requirement for the Rafale programme from the outset. "It was the French government which imposed the maintenance concept for the Rafale, the first combat aircraft in the world which had both operational and support requirements...

...The innovations that Dassault has built into the Rafale reduce the necessary groundcrew to eight personnel — 25 percent less than the Mirage 2000 and again, this is to ease deployment...

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