According to the “Times of India” website, New Delhi has asked Paris to jointly provide the first 4 Rafale which will enter service in May 2020 in India, at least 8 to 10 long-range Meteor Air-Air missiles. This request is justified by the growing tensions between India and Pakistan, which gave rise in February 2019 to a major air combat between Indian Su-30MKI, Mirage-2000 and Mig-21 Bison, and F16, Mirage 5 and JH -17 Pakistanis, with the destruction of an aircraft on both sides. However, during this engagement, the Pakistani F16Cs, using American-made AIM-120 Amraam missiles reaching beyond 100 km, obtained firing solutions where the Su-30MKI-R77 pair did not succeed.
According to reports, during this engagement, onlyIndian mirages 2000 and their MICA-E missilesM, given to have a range greater than 50 km, managed to hook the Pakistani devices beyond visual range. Also note that the Su-30s, if they had indeed been detected by the Pakistani missiles, applied diagonal flight tactics, known as 'Anti-Amraam', to prevent the F16s from firing. In any case, New Delhi now urgently needs an aircraft equipped with a long-range engagement system surpassing the performance of the American AIM-120, in this case the pair Rafale/Meteor.
Beyond the F16s equipped with AMRAAM missiles, New Delhi also fears the appearance of new versions of the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder fighter, equipped with an AESA radar, and capable of implementing Chinese long-range missiles, such as the PL 21, capable according to sources of reaching targets beyond 150 km, or the SD-10A, export version of the PL12 capable of reaching beyond 100 km, given to be a copy of the European Meteor. Furthermore, the risks of being drawn into an engagement against the Chinese air forces, equipped with J10, J11, J16 and J20, and also carrying long-range missiles, are far from being excluded.
In fact, the Rafale Indians are likely to experience particularly dense operational activity, as soon as they enter service. We understand from these statements that the Indian Air Force does not plan to give itself the time to make up the numbers with these aircraft, and that they will very quickly be deployed to simultaneously ensure air defense and deterrence missions against both adversaries surrounding India. We also understand the high degree of confidence placed by the IAF in the Rafale, and the reasons why it has been, over the years, the most vigorous advocate of the French apparatus in India, even when the storm raged.
Note that, at the same time, India ordered 1000 Russian long-range R27 missiles, designated by NATO as AA-10 Alamo, a contract worth only $200 million, to strengthen the long-range engagement capabilities of its Su30 MKIs. This missile is generally considered inferior to the R77 already in service, but also significantly more expensive than the R27. Additionally, reports indicated that New Delhi had opened negotiations with Moscow to the acquisition of very long-range R37M (AA-13 Arrow) missiles, capable according to the Russian authorities, of reaching targets over 300 km away, but limited to the engagement of imposing and poorly maneuverable aircraft such as tanker planes and Awacs.