Military Expert Explains India's Decision to Replace MiG-29K with Rafale Fighter Jet
Military Expert Shulikin: India Replaces MiG-29K with Rafale for Three Reasons
Author: Anastasia Kulikova
Vladislav Shulikin, a military expert, told Izvestia that New Delhi's decision to replace the MiG-29K/KUB fighter jets with the "Rafale" fighter jets will not affect India-Russia military and technological cooperation. He explained the three reasons why India purchased French fighters.
"The leadership of India decided to replace the MiG-29K/KUB fighter jets with France's 'Rafale' fighter jets, which is related to three factors," said military expert Vladislav Shulikin. The first factor is New Delhi's policy of diversifying suppliers of weapons and military equipment.
The interviewee explained: "India faces the Russian market, but over the past 15 years, the government has been working hard to implement such a policy, namely, not to rely solely on a single production country. In the field of fighter jets, in addition to cooperating with Moscow, they also cooperate with Paris and other countries."
In this context, he mentioned the US appeal to India to purchase F-35 fighter jets. However, Shulkin pointed out that American aircraft are "very expensive and grossly overvalued." This leads to the second factor for India's leadership to replace "MiG" fighter jets with "Rafale" fighter jets — the availability of fighter jets. The expert explained: "French fighter jets are relatively 'affordable', within the reach of New Delhi."
Finally, the third factor is concern about secondary sanctions: "Given that Moscow is currently under various restrictions, India may simply be worried about purchasing equipment from Russia." According to his assessment, this transaction between New Delhi and Paris will not have any consequences for India-Russia military and technological cooperation.
Shulikin concluded: "It's nonsense to say that the Indian government will reject our weapons or fighter jets. Russia's top priority at present is to equip its armed forces with new equipment. I believe that after the special military operation ends, exports will begin to recover and become active."
Previously, the Indian government signed a contract with France to supply 26 "Rafale-M" and "Rafale-D" fighter jets. According to the Indian Ministry of Defense, the deal amounts to 630 billion Indian rupees (over $7.4 billion).
It is expected that these fighter jets developed by Dassault Aviation will replace the MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB carrier-based fighter jets deployed on India's INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant aircraft carriers. The Hindu reported that India began seeking replacement models against the backdrop of these fighter jets nearing their retirement deadlines.
The Indian military department also explained that among these 26 fighter jets, 22 are single-seat carrier-based combat type "Rafale-M", and another four are twin-seat training type "Rafale-D". These fighter jets will be delivered between 2028 and 2030, and the crew will receive training in both France and India. Currently, India already uses 36 "Rafale" fighter jets purchased from France in 2016.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499420430290256447/
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