Fighter Aircraft are the main components used by the Indian Air Force to defend the borders of India from external aggression. Indian Air Force has many different types of Fighter Jets in its inventory. Some of the Fighter Aircraft is Mirage-2000, Jaguar, MiG-29, MiG-21, Sukhoi-30 MKI, Tejas. From late July, India will start receiving Rafale fighter jets.
Candidates can find information on the structure and other important details of UPSC Civil Service Exam by visiting the IAS Exam page.
Tejas, Rafale, Sukhoi-30 – UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here
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Tejas/Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Fighter Aircraft – Manufactured by India
- Tejas is a Lightweight Fighter Jet developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The aircraft was designed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
- Tejas – Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program was envisaged to replace the Russian MiG-21 fighter aircraft operated by Indian Air Force.
- Tejas is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft.
- The LCA program was named Tejas in 2003.
- As of 2020, Indian Air Force (IAF) has two squadrons of Tejas Mk 1 Aircraft located at Sulur, Tamil Nadu.
Rafale Fighter Aircraft – Manufactured by France
- Rafale is a twin-engine manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France. It is primarily used by the French Air Force.
- Rafale fighter Jets will be operated by Indian Air Force, a deal was signed for 36 Rafale Fighter Jets. The deal was signed in 2016, it includes a package of spares and weapons including the highly acclaimed Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVRAAM). Apart from Indian Airforce, Rafale has been chosen by the Egyptian Air Force, Qatar Air Force.
- Rafale fighter jets were used in combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Mali.
Sukhoi 30 Fighter Aircraft – Manufactured by Russia
- Sukhoi 30 is a twin-engine Fighter Jet manufactured by Sukhoi Aviation Corporation.
- There are many variants of Sukhoi-30 aircraft, and the variant used by Indian Air Force is Sukhoi 30 MkI.
- Apart from the Russian and Indian Air Force, the other users of Sukhoi-30 aircraft are Algeria, China, Vietnam, Venezuela, Malaysia.
- Sukhoi 30 MKI is the backbone of the Indian Air Force. As of January 2020, India operates around 260 Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter jets. India has plans to buy more Sukhoi 30 MKI aircraft, primarily to replace the ones lost due to accidents.
Some of the important specifications of Tejas, Rafale, Sukhoi-30 Fighter Jets are given in the below table
| Tejas | Engine – General Electric F404-E
Payload – 5,300 Kg Combat Range – 500 Km Maximum Speed – Mach 1.8 8 Hardpoints – The aircraft can carry different types of missiles and bombs in those 8 Hardpoints. Radar – Elta ELM/M – 2052 Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar (AESA) Radar |
| Rafale | Engine – Snecma M88-2
Combat Range – 1850 Km Maximum Speed – Mach 1.8 14 Hardpoints – Rafale can carry different types of missiles and bombs in those 14 Hardpoints. Radar – Thales RBE2-AA Radar |
| Sukhoi-30 | Engine – Saturn AL-31FL
Range – 3000 Km Maximum Speed – Mach 2 12 Hardpoints – Sukhoi 30 can carry different weapons and bombs in the 12 Hardpoints. Radar – Bars Planar Array Radar |
Candidates can refer to the Topic-Wise GS 3 Questions for UPSC Mains in the linked article.
Tejas, Rafale, Sukhoi-30 – UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here
Candidates can find the general pattern of the UPSC Civil Service Exam by visiting the IAS Syllabus page.
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