The Twitter handle of East Bengaluru Congress Seva Dal (Archive link) has recently shared an infographic which mentions that India has bought 36 rafale from France at a cost of $8.7 billion. However, Indonesia bought 42 rafale from France at a cost of $8.1 billion.
The Bangalore Congress Sevadal while sharing the infographic wrote, “If its not brokerage in rafale deal then what else it is.”
In 2015, after the Indian government made deal with the France government to buy 36 rafale jets, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, accused PM Modi of not being truthful and demanded the government disclose the amount it spent for the jets. In response, the government said that making the information public would jeopardise national security.
Later, the Supreme Court gave a judgement saying that no irregularities or corruption have been found in the deal. Despite the court’s ruling, the opposition and its supporters continue to accused the government of corruption.
Moreover, the same infographic with the same caption was also shared by the Congress supporter going by the username @/EbrahimNasreen (Archive link).
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In this fact-check report, our key focus will be to the questions of whether the Rafales that were supplied to India are better to those that were sent to Indonesia and why India paid $8.7 billion for 36 rafale.
We started our research with relevant keywords like “Indian rafale better than Indonesian rafale” and “Why India bought 36 rafale for $8.7 billion whereas Indonesia bought 42 rafale for $8.1 billion.” Our keyword search led us to the report by Business Insider.
The Business Insider report explains the rationale behind France’s $8.7 billion sale of 36 Rafale to India. The article states that compared to the rafales given to Indonesia and Egypt, those given to India are more advanced, more customized, and have extra enhancements made by France to fulfil the demands of the Indian Air Force.
The 4.5 generation Rafale aircraft are well known for their ability to give air superiority in combat and are now in service by Egypt, Qatar, and France. However, the aircraft that have been handed to India are said to have an advantage over the others.
One of the major reasons why Indian rafales are better and costlier than other rafales is that if you talk about Egypt, it is located in a region that links northeast Africa and the Middle East, and it mostly experiences sweltering desert temperatures. However, the weather in India is affected by a variety of weather patterns that are adequately impacted by the Himalayas and the Thar desert.
And in both these regions, India faces threats from China and Pakistan, which are located in the sub-zero temperatures of Ladakh and Kashmir, due to which all fighter aircraft of the IAF must operate in all weather conditions. Because of this, the Indian Air Force’s Rafale has been modified to be capable of flying in both severe cold and rigid weather. Hence, France had to add something special to Indian fighter planes that was not present in any other Rafales.
The Business Insider wrote, “Specially tailored for the IAF, the Rafale jets have cold engine start capability to operate from high-altitude bases including Leh, radar warning receivers, flight data recorders with storage for 10 hours of data, infrared search and track systems.” The helmet mounted display is also integrated to the rafales which will be of great advantage to the pilots and they can shoot down weapons at the speed of light.
Moreover, a few new modes are added to the aircraft like NTCR (Non-cooperative Target Recon Mode), DBS (Doppler Beam Sharpening Mode), SAR (Synthetic Aperature Radar More), GMTI (Ground Moving Target Track Indicator), and GMTT (Ground Moving Target Track). With their help, Rafael can effectively detect its threat.
It further adds that Indian Rafales are equipped with the X-Guard fiber-optic towed decoy system, which enables the aircraft to deflect incoming air-to-air and surface-to-air missile strikes.
Each aircraft is equipped with two X-Guard towed decoys that can be deployed when a danger is spotted or when the aircraft approaches a densely populated area. The aircraft’s electronic countermeasures system transmits the best countermeasure to the X-Guard. Accurate jamming is possible due to the fiber-optic link to the aircraft.
In addition, a radio altimeter that can measure heights between 10,000 and 15,000 feet was installed in the Rafale. It also contains a radar warning receiver and a flight data recorder that can store 16 hours of data, compared to the Rafale’s recorder’s regular capacity of 10 hours.
In total, 13 enhancements were made to the Indian rafale. Below is the list:
Therefore, considering the above information, it is incorrect and misleading to say that due to corruption India had to pay more for 36 Rafale than Indonesia. The Rafale was extensively modified to meet the requirements of the Indian Air Force, which is why India spent $8.7 billion for 36 Rafale.
| Claim | India paid bought 36 rafale for $8.7 billion due to the corruption involved |
| Claimed by | Congress Sevadal Bangalore and Nasreen Ibrahim |
| Fact Check | Misleading |
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