Pulwama to Pahalgam: Rafale jets with Scalp missiles give India edge over 2019 Balakot strike

Even though India has responded to acts of terror with cross-border actions previously, this time is expected to be different.

Previously, India responded to an attack in Manipur in 2015 with attacks on insurgents’ camps in Myanmar. In 2016, India responded to an attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri, India responded with a surgical strike against terrorists in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (POK). In 2019, India responded with an airstrike in Pakistan proper in response to the Pulwama attack.

This time, however, it is expected to be different as the Pahalgam attack as well as means to conduct any military operation are much different.

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For one, unlike the attacks in Manipur, Uri, or Pulwama, civilians were killed in J&K’s Pahalgam. As for the means, India now has superior war machines that would enable it to finetune any shortcomings that might have been there in the 2019 response.

The induction of 36 Rafale fighter planes and Scalp missiles have given India an edge.

Why 2024 is not 2019

In 2019, in the absence of any advanced fighter plane, India had to rely on old warhorses Mirage 2000s and MiG-21s.

While the airstrike in Balakot was conducted by Mirages by using Spice-2000 precision guided penetration bombs, the incoming Pakistan aircraft the next day were primarily intercepted by MiG-21 warplanes.

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In the aerial combat, India said that one of the MiG-21s shot down a Pakistani F-16, a much advanced a superior fighter plane.

However, Pakistan was otherwise able to bypass Indian aerial combat patrols, airborne early warning and command systems, air defences, and utilised a window when newer Sukhoi aircraft were not in the area. That’s why MiG-21s had to join the fight and did the bulk of the aerial combat.

If such a situation were to arise today, it would be much different — thanks to Rafale fighters and Scalp missiles.

How Rafales give India an edge

Compared to Mirages and Sukhois, and even Pakistani mainstay F-16 to a good extent, French Rafales are superior in range, avionics, and armaments.

They carry Scalp and meteor missiles that have better range.

Coupled with newer radars and electronic warfare systems, Rafales bring an edge to India in aerial combat.

Of the 36 Rafales that India has procured from France, 18 are deployed in Haryana’s Ambala to take care of the Western front with Pakistan.

Considering the gravity of the situation, India may move Rafales deployed in the eastern sector to the Western front if the scale of the operation would demand it. However, concerns of any Chinese retaliation to help Pakistan would be considered in any such decision.

In a post on X, strategic affairs analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra said that 36 Rafales with meteors, Scalp, and Mica missiles give India “enough range and punch for hitting 36 ground targets while simultaneously being able to hold off all 72 PAF [Pakistani Air Force] F-16s at ranges over 250 kms”.

With two fuel tanks, four Meteors, one Scalp, and Two Micas each, India would be able to deploy a total of 36 long-range air to ground missiles, 144 long-range air to air missiles, and 72 medium-range missiles.

“This is not a gauntlet the PAF will want to run. The main thing here is to avoid close range entanglements which is where the PAF comes into its own. You need to keep this beyond visual range throughout in order to fully exploit your technological advantage,” said Iyer-Mitra.

In Central India, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is currently holding ‘Aakraman’ annual exercise to hone war-waging capabilities. Scenarios of any confrontation with Pakistan are bound to be practised in the exercises.