Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

India is also considering a French proposal to acquire six Airbus 330 multi-role transport tanker aircraft on a government-to-government basis for expanding the strike capability of the IAF Dassault Aviation has handed over 18 of the 36 contracted Rafale fighter jets to India. 11 have been inducted  into the Indian Air Force while 7 are being used for training IAF pilots in France. (Dassault Aviation /A Pecchi) Four Rafale fighters of the French Air Force will land in India this month to participate in joint exercises with the Indian Air Force’s Golden Arrows Squadron that was resurrected in September last with the induction of the Rafale fighter jets. The exercises have been scheduled between 19 and 25 January in the skies over the deserts of Rajasthan, people familiar with the matter said. The French air force’s Rafales will be accompanied by the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport aircraft (MRTT) for aerial refuelling support. The four fighters will also participate in joint...

In a major boost for the surveillance capabilities of Indian Air Force along the borders with China and Pakistan, DRDO is making six new ‘Made in India’ planes. These would be built on passenger aircraft flying with Air India. In a major boost for the surveillance capabilities of Indian Air Force along the borders with China and Pakistan, DRDO is making six new ‘Made in India’ planes. These would be built on passenger aircraft flying with Air India. “As per the plans the six new aircraft would be made in India by the DRDO and would be provided to the Air Force in the Rs 10,500 crore project which is expected to be cleared soon at the topmost level.” The six new aircraft would be known as the Airborne Early Warning and Control Block 2 planes that would be better equipped than their predecessor NETRA plane and provide 360-degree coverage deep inside the enemy territory during missions, said officials. To build the AEW&C system on the existing aircraft from the Air India fleet, th...

The IAF now operate seven Russian IL-76 M refuellers with Pakistan acquiring four of the same refuellers from Ukraine and China operating three of the same Russian refuellers along with 10 vintage modified versions of Russian bombers. According to officials at South Block , while the IAF wanted to get an Airbus 330 MRTT on wet lease from a British company, the French proposal involves selling six 5-7-year-old aircraft to the IAF with a certification of another 30 years of platform life at a much reduced price. The IAF has been eager to acquire an MRTT over the past decade, with the previous request for proposal (RFP) expiring without any results. According to a former Indian Air Force chief who didn’t want to be named, the Airbus 330 MRTT platform has much larger wings of the Airbus 340m as a result of which the aircraft can refuel two fighters mid-air at the same time through drogues (attached to wing pods) or a central refuelling boom system. The best part about the Airbus aircraft...