According to Air Chief Marshall Dhanoa’s report, the Rafale is better than EFT or Grippen (for Indian needs)
Seven Reasons why Israeli Consultant on Military Affairs – Retd General Zvi B Canaan (Israeli Air Force) ruled out the Rafale was because of
1) Lower Max Combat Speed
2) Poorer Stealth compared to other equivalent models like Saab Grippen
3) Higher Maximum Wing Drag compared to other models like F-35 or EFT
4) Longer replacement time for Spares (7 1/2 months compared to 3 months) for equivalent models like Saab Grippen or EFT
5) Load inefficiency with Armed Missiles compared to equivalent models like EFT or Saab Grippen or F-35
6) Higher Cost and Higher Maintenance Cost and Higher Cost of Spares – almost 2.5 times more than any other fighter
7) Poorer Turn Radius and Bank Stability (No idea why word Bank is used ) compared to the F-35 or Saab Grippen or EFT
However the positives were
1) Good On Board Computer
2) Excellent Avionics
3) Better Missile Release Mechanism than EFT or F-16A
Now this meant that Rafale was not suitable for countries like USA (and Israel) – which depend heavily on Aircraft for most of their combat and so Aircraft become primary fighting weapons.
However, it is perfect for India which depend on Aircraft for support and depend primarily on their Land Army for any kind of combat. We dont need dogfights and we wont bomb cities. Our Aircraft are meant to clear enemy combatants and tanks and support forward advance of our troops. For that Context the Rafale was ideally suited compared to the EFT or the Grippen.
Source : – Former Air Chief Marshall Dhanoa’s report on why Rafale is better than EFT or Grippen (for Indian needs)
