New Delhi: We have been talking about the Rafale and Tejas fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Our focus has mainly been on these two aircraft and somehow the pundits have missed to make an observation about another plane.
It is the Mirage-2000 fighter jet. Reports say that the Indian Air Force is in the process of strengthening its aerial combat strength and for the purpose, it is engaged in critical upgrade of the Mirage-2000 fighter jet fleet. The proposal involves equipping the aircraft with the indigenous Astra Mk2, an advanced, domestically developed, Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) being developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
What should India look for from France?
For this project of upgrading the Mirage-2000, a strong and highly professional partnership is required with the Dassault Aviation of France, which manufactured these single-engine, multirole planes. To put it simply, the Mirage 2000 being operated by is a product of the same company which manufactured the Rafale aircraft, now deployed by the Indian Air Force. Here, in this situation, it is imperative to address and resolve a critical capability gap in long-range engagements and ensure that the IAF’s Mirage inventory is not only updated but matches the latest fifth generation fighter jets being operated by the elite group and as before, the old hand remains a challenging resource irrespective of the modern aerial combat strategies and designs.
Why is Mirage-2000 so highly placed?
The Mirage-2000 aircraft has been at the forefront of India’s aerial superiority as proved during the 1999 Kargil War and 2019 Balakot strikes. The IAF is operating about 50 Mirage-2000 aircraft for decades and it has yielded encouraging results. This machine has been a cornerstone of India’s air power for long. Now is just the right time to modernise them as their current armament, the French-made MICA missiles, have a maximum range of about 80 kilometres which is much shorter than the missiles fielded by regional adversaries, such as China’s PL-15 which has an estimated range of 200-300 km on its J-20 jets and Pakistan’s AIM-120C-7 with a range of around 120 km on its JF-17.
What is the solution?
Coming back to the upgradation part, the Mirage is too precious to be left behind as we look forward to acquire new machines. What we need to do is do is work on the machine and the weapons it can operate to be among the equals in the present air power scenario. The Mirage-2000 is currently at a disadvantage in modern beyond-visual-range (BVR) combat, where the ability to detect and fire from a greater distance is paramount. This brings us back to the proposal to equip the aircraft with the Astra Mk2 advanced, domestically developed, Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) being developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Astra Mk2 has a reported range of 160-180 km which denotes a big leap over its predecessor, the 110-km range Astra Mk1.
What are the hindrances?
The project faces a significant technical and diplomatic obstacle as witnessed just before the commencement of Operation Sindoor where France did not share the source code of IAF’s Rafale. This is like a replay of the seeking of the source code to facilitate weapons of our choice. Powered by a dual-pulse solid rocket motor for enhanced speed and manoeuvrability, the Astra Mk2 is designed to compete with leading global missiles. But here is the hitch! The Mirage-2000’s Thales RDY radar system is not currently compatible with the Astra Mk2. To integrate Astra Mk2 with Mirage-2000, the IAF needs the radar’s source code, which is the exclusive technology of the French firms.
Even though the Indian Air Force is reportedly holding parleys with Dassault Aviation to get access to the code, history tells us that France has kept strict controls on its defence technology exports.
Dassault Aviation might ask for a big amount go share the source code, and with the Mirage-2000 expected to remain in service until at least 2035, the missile upgrade and integration are on high priority.