Uttar Pradesh
Fighter aircraft Rafale and Mirage
- 21 Apr 2025
- 3 min read
Why in News
French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation will carry out repair and maintenance and overhaul (MRO) of the Indian Air Force 's Rafale and Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft at the Noida airport complex . The company will also set up a Centre of Excellence and a university for this.
Key Points
- About
- 1365 hectares of land has been acquired for the MRO facility , which is located near Noida International Airport .
- Aeronautical and Avionics courses at high school, polytechnic and graduation levels will be started at the Centre of Excellence established by Dassault .
- It aims to reduce foreign dependency by enhancing MRO capacity in India, promote self-reliance in the defence sector and enhance investment and employment opportunities in the state by attracting FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) .
- The company will also get a subsidy of ₹12 crore under the FDI policy .
- The MRO industry in India was worth $1.7 billion in 2021 , and is projected to reach $7 billion by 2030 .
- India has 713 aircraft , which can increase to 1522 by 2031. The Indian Air Force has 36 Rafale and 50 Mirage-2000 aircraft.
- India will no longer be dependent on countries like America, China and Singapore for the maintenance of state-of-the-art aircraft like Rafale and Mirage.
- Importance:
- The maintenance cost and time of the Indian Air Force will be reduced.
- India's strategic autonomy and defence preparedness will be strengthened.
- Local employment , technical education and industrial development will be promoted.
- India's MRO industry can become globally competitive.
- Uttar Pradesh will get a new identity in the aviation sector .
About Rafale:
- Rafale is a French twin-engine and multirole fighter aircraft, designed by Dassault Aviation of France.
- State-of-the-art technology has been used in this fighter plane and it is a 4.5 Generation fighter plane.
- The Meteor Missile, SCALP Cruise Missile and MICA Missile System present in the Rafale fighter aircraft make it very important from the security point of view.
- Rafale can fly at a speed of 2,222.6 kilometres per hour and an altitude of 50,000 feet.
- This fighter aircraft is approximately 15.27 metres long and can carry 9,500 kilograms of bombs and ammunition at a time.
