8 October 2019 marked many events, some cultural, others martial, some in Southern Asia another in Western Europe. This year on that date, Dussehra was celebrated, which is a major Hindu festival observed in the Calendar month of Ashvin or Kartik and marking Rama’s victory over Ravan.
8 October 2019, also marked the 87th anniversary of the Indian Air Force which celebrated its foundation with parades at Air Force Station Hindan in the morning and an ‘at home’ in the evening hosted by the CAS at Air House in New Delhi.
Some 7000 kilometres to the west is Merignac, a suburb of Bordeaux in France, where another ceremony took place with the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh formerly accepting the first Dassault Rafale for the Indian Air Force. Rafaleis ‘gust’ or ’squall’ in english and certainly the selection of this superlative multirole combat aircraft has created much turbulence in Indian political circles.
But first, a flash back to 1953 when the first French-origin fighter was inducted by the Indian Air Force :Dassault’sOuragan which translates as ‘hurricane’ or ‘storm’ in english and so the title of this article is apt ! In fact, the Rafale is the sixth aircraft type to adorn Indian markings, the Ouragan(Toofani) being followed by the Mystere IVA, then the Alize carrier-borne ASW aircraft, the Jaguar DPSA (jointly with BAe) and Mirage 2000, the latter subject of an intensive upgrade programme.
At Merignac, as defence Minister Rajnath Singh officially accepted the first Rafale (RB 001) for the Indian Air Force he stated “Our air force the forth-largest in the world and I believe that the Rafale aircraft will make us even stronger and will give a boost to India’s air dominance exponentially to ensure peace and security in the region”.
He was at the handover ceremony along with his French counterpart Florence Parly at the Dassault facility in Merignac, southwestern France. The minister performed a shastra puja on the new aircraft as he emblazoned it with an ‘Om’tilak, laid flowers,a coconut and lemon (which was subject of much comment in India thereafter) He later had a flight in a twin-seat Rafale, exclaiming that “I had never imagined that I would be flown at supersonic speed; a very comfortable and smooth flight during which I was able to observe the many capabilities of the jet, its air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities”.
The ceremony was hosted by Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, who stated that he was “particularly honored to host this ceremony today as India is part of Dassault Aviation's DNA. The long and trustful relationship we share is an undeniable success and underpins my determination of establishing for the long term Dassault Aviation in India. We stand alongside the Indian Air Force since 1953, we are totally committed to fulfill its requirements for the decades to come and to be part of India's ambitious vision for the future", has declared Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was accompanied by Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora, AOC-in-C South Western Air Command (now VCAS) while the CO of No.17 Squadron GpCaptHarkirat Singh explained features of the cockpit to the Minister (see also news items in Vayu Issue V/2019).