The Rafale fighter planes and Su-30MKIs will be a potent combination against India's enemies like China and Pakistan, said Vice-Chief Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Thursday, July 11. He added that the modern fighter jets will help the Indian Air Force tackle any adverse situation.
"Once Su-30MKI and Rafale start operating together, it'll be a potent combination against our adversaries. Be it Pak or anyone else, it'll be a potent capability. Any adversary would be worried about such a combination," Bhadauria told ANI
The Indian Air Force is going induct 114 fighter jets which would make up for the fast depleting fighter squadrons (IAF currently has 30 squadrons while 42 are required).
The admiral said that as India's air warfare undergoes a facelift, Pakistan wouldn't repeat the mistake of carrying airstrikes as it did on February 27.
"Pakistan will face huge losses because IAF would be able to hit back with larger and better weapons using Rafale and Sukhoi jets," said Bhadauria. "The attrition that we'll inflict would be very high," he added.
In 2016 India inked a deal to buy 36 Rafale jets from France for Rs 59,000 crore. The first four Rafale fighters are expected to reach the Ambala Air Force Station next year after the IAF completes its induction training for 10 pilots, 10 engineers and 40 technicians in France.
Additionally, India would also purchase 18 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI multirole fighters and 21 Mikoyan MiG-29 air superiority jets from Russia to strengthen the fighter fleet of IAF. The addition of Su-30 MKI and MIG-29 will add two more squadrons to the IAF.
