Fictional Indian War Scenario: Skirmishes over the Arabian Sea – Part 2

The  flight of The F16 Block 52  based out of Jacobabad belonging to 5(MR) Squadron, the 39^th Tactical Air Wing were armed with a  deadly mix of  the  AIM120 AMRAAM  and GBU-10  Paveway laser guided bomb kits attached to Mk-82 bombs which was generously gifted out at discounted price by the US Government.

While 4 of the planes were armed with 2 AIM120 AMRAAM and 2 AIM9M Sidewinder WVR ( Within Visual Range Missiles) the other 4 were armed with the GBU 10 Paveway laser guided bomb kits attached to the Mk-82 bombs , the intended recipient of which was to be the Petrochemical plant in Gujarat.

The “team” had gone through simulated exercises and had practiced the attack numerous times.

The idea was to keep the plan simple, the key was to ensure stealth, remain undetected before the attack was initiated on the gigantic petrochemical plant. Post the attack the plan was to hit on the afterburners on their Pratt and Whitney engines and escape to the protective bubble of the SAAB 2000 Erieye AEW&C and the additional F16 Block 52 which would be available as part of this operation.

Being the professional force they claimed to be Bashir had ensure that the plan was drilled into each of those participating in this operation. He knew that the  the IAF on its part exercised regularly out of IAF Base Kailkunda in West Bengal with the Singapore Airforce F16’s which were superior to the F-16 at the PAF’s disposal ,he was banking on the element of stealth together with their training to get them through.

Luck was unfortunately not on Bashir’ side today.

03:30 Hrs, somewhere over the Arabian Sea. INS Visakhapatnam.

Knock Knock….

2 knocks on the door was sufficient, Captain P Sen, being the light sleeper he was had already opened the door before Commander K Vikram , Vikki to his batch mates had the opportunity to knock for the 3^rd time.

Years of being in the navy had made Captain Sen a light Sleeper. At 6 feet with greying hair, Captain Sen belonged to the old school .Blessed with a razor sharp intellect and a photogenic memory he had topped his batch at the Naval Academy and had breezed through the Post Graduate course at IIT Delhi. His gruff voice and calm demeanour under pressure endeared him to his “troops”, the term he used often to address those serving under him.

Captain Sen had no time for those who dilly dallied ,seeing Vikram’ s expression and the fact that he was woken up from the 5 hours of sleep that he habitually took at midnight , he knew something was up.

“Sit rep Vikram “questioned Captain Sen.

8 inbound bogies Sir, the MFSTAR is tracking them and have identified them as F16’s.

Additionally we have picked up the radar signature of an SAAB 2000 Erieye and an IL78 Midas tanker off the coast of Karachi.

The 8 inbounds have been assigned the call sign Bogey 1 to 8.

We have notified INS Kadamba and Joint HQ at New Delhi has also been notified on the developments, shot off Vikram without drawing a breath, while Captain Sen got ready.

“Lets go” the veteran sailor nodded towards the direction of the Vizag’s bridge which housed heart, ears and eyes of the 7000 tonne monster.

The Indian Rafale’s Part 2 – The Unique One

A lot of controversy has arisen on the price tag of the Indian Rafale's. While not wishing to indulge in mudslinging to the detriment to national security it is pertinent to look at some of the IAF specific requirements which has inadvertently lead to the increase in the Rafale's cost.

The IAF Rafales would be the F3R+ versions with the following India unique features, most of which are of Israeli origin and design.

1.       Rafael's LITENING G4 target acquisition/designation pod instead of the Damocles designation pod which is the standard targeting cum acquisition pod for the Rafale.

2.       Elbit's Targo II HMDS  instead of the Sextant Avionique developed TopSight

3.       Rafael's Spice-1000 standoff PGM and its related data-link, in addition to DRDO developed standoff precision ground to air ammunition under development.

4.       Quad-pack ejectors for SAAW EMP-emitting standoff DEW PGM.

5.       Optimisation of the M88 turbofan’s jet-fuel starter for operating in sub-zero temperatures at altitudes above 3000 Meters. Specifically to take off from Leh/Ladhak and the North East keeping in mind the twin PAF and PLAAF threats.

6.       Enhanced SPECTRA EW suite to accommodate low-band, medium-band and high-band directional jammer apertures.

7.       Towed Decoy system, most likely being the Rafael’s X-Guard.

8.       Increased capacity of on board OBOGS, this to ensure more long ranged mission, allowing the fighters to take off from deep within India for strikes across the borders.

In addition there is speculations that the IAF Rafales could also mount the Indian Astra missile and the Bramhos NG although integration and flight testing of these 2 missiles could take considerable time, effort and money which with the shrinking defence budget is unlikely.

(Defence budget as a % of GDP is at the lowest since the 1962 war with the Peoples Republic of China)

The 36 Rafales ,28 single seaters and 8 twin seaters would equip 2 squadrons of the IAF and would be based out of Ambala in the North West  and Hasimara in the North East , this to act if required against both China and Pakistan. What is not highlighted is the capital cost incurred to build the base infrastructure to house the Rafales. Additionally the state of the art training facilities which would be part of the base infrastructure is generations ahead of what the IAF pilots have been exposed to for fighter planes.

The training modules in Ambala and Hasimara would be connected to each other and to Gwalior, the home for the upgraded Mirage 2000 I fleet and more importantly the cradle of IAF fighter tactics and weapons development the TACDE (Tactical and Air Combat development Establishment) where future generation of India’s top guns are born.

One of the stand out features of the agreement is the 75% PBL clause which has been mentioned in Part 1 of our feature. Maintenance crews along with the fighter pilots would be trained in France before the fighters are officially inducted into the IAF. The Microsoft HoloLens-based virtual/augmented reality hands-on documentation and training system (HADOC) is also being touted to be part of the overall package negotiated in the Government to Government deal.

To be continued