French military exercise: Indian Rafael fighters to participate with NATO allies

Indian Air Force’s newest and most advanced fighter jets the French-made Rafale are all set to participate in a French military exercise which includes many NATO troops as well. The fighter jets will most likely arrive in France in mid-April 2023 to take part in Ex Orion-23. It is a multi-dimensional exercise which includes ground troops, warships aircraft carriers and combat aircraft.

This will be for the first time that Indian Rafael jets will participate in a military exercise which is being held in a different country. This is India’s most advanced aircraft with the latest military technology and is equipped with meteor air-to-air missiles with a range of 200 km and Scalp air-to-ground missiles with a range of 300 km. India and France hold regular bilateral exercises including the Garuda series of aerial drills but have been increasingly taking part in multilateral exercises, the Indian navy recently took part in Ex La Perouse in the Indian Ocean which included participation from the UK, US, Japan and Australia and was conducted in the Indian Ocean.

Ex Orion-23

A significant military training exercise is called Orion-23 (Operation for Resilient, Interoperable, High-Intensity Combat Oriented, and Innovative armed forces). It is taking place at a time when the Russia-Ukraine conflict is at its peak. It is decided as preparation for NATO and allies for possible future conflicts with Russia. It is the largest military war drill being conducted by the European Nation in decades, it involves 19000 troops from France and spans across land, sea, air and cyberspace.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been modelled after the war game scenario. For the exercises, a fictitious nation named "Arland," which is aligned with France and under invasion from a much larger neighbour named "Mercure," has been established. Arland makes a plea to its allies for assistance in defending itself against the Invasion after being damaged by a destabilising campaign that involves the establishment of a separatist terrorist group by Mercure. To prevent a Mercure air-land strike, the war simulation, which is almost finished, will advocate an invasion of Arland and the cooperation of allies like France and other NATO members.

About Rafale fighter jets

Rafale is a twin-engine multi-role fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation. It is a multi-role aircraft and the Indian Air Force has already received 36 of these fighter jets. This makes two squadrons for the IAF. It has also a naval version known as Rafale Marine.

It has a delta wing design and is capable of higher G-forces as much as 11 G and is available in single as well as dual-seater variants. It is 15.27m long and has a wing span of 10.80m. The Rafael has GIAT 30M/719B cannon mounted on it with controlled 0.5 or 1-second bursts at 2500 RPM. Rafale is equipped with a primary missile as the multi-target fire and forgets the air-to-air missile. It is also equipped with MBDA Meteor.