Eurofighter Typhoon vs Dassault Rafale

Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the worlds most advanced new generation multi-role/swing-role combat aircraft available on the market. With 707 aircraft ordered by six nations (Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Austria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), and in service with all nations, the aircraft is Europe’s largest military collaborative program. Eurofighter Typhoon is the only fighter to offer wide-ranging operational capabilities whilst at the same time delivering unparalleled fleet effectiveness.

When the RAFALE program was launched, the Armée de l’Air and the Marine Nationale (the French Air Force and the French Navy) published a joint requirement for a balanced multirole aircraft that would be able to replace seven types of combat aircraft then in use. Versatile and best in all categories of missions, the RAFALE is a true “force multiplier” This is what Dassault Aviation says about their pride and joy and it’s really interesting since they put too much emphasis on words like “omni role” & “multi role”.

The reason for comparing the capabilities of these aircraft’s is because they have both been shortlisted by the Indian Air Force for the MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) deal which is a tender for 126 (could go upto 200) multi role fighters to replenish and replace the IAF’s dwindling squadrons.

rafale

The Typhoon and the Rafale were the ones the IAF shortlisted because they offer more in long term commitment in the form of technology and service this decision supersedes more over than petty technical details although IAF is looking for a platform which has true Multi-Role capabilities which include air to air missions, air to ground and air to sea as well. So the platform must be able to perform in the most adverse of conditions which includes searing heat and humidity to the frost bitten cold of the Ladakh.

Dassault Aviation is under pressure since they haven’t been able to make a single sale of their aircraft outside their own country so this deal is a game changer to them and we shouldn’t be surprised if we see them tossing everything from full Transfer of Technology (ToT) for everything including their RBE-2AA AESA radars to promising the fitment of the indigenous Kaveri-GTX 35VS into the aircraft as well into the batter and denying the opportunity to block future sales of the same platform to the PAF (Pakistani Air Force) only further sweetens things up.

Eurofighter on the other hand has had a lot of sales with over 707 aircraft ordered by six countries. But this doesn’t mean that they have no interest in India especially since the amount of money involved is no laughing matter US$ 12 billion is hard to come by every day. The Eurofighter Typhoon variant on offer is the Tranche-3.It’s equipped with the latest avionics and ECM’s (Electronic Counter Measures) and also the CAESAR AESA radar.

EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) has agreed to make India partner of the Eurofighter program allowing India to take part in design and development of the future tranches of the Typhoon.

IAF already operates the Mirage-2000 and Rafale is operationally and logistically very similar to their previous cousin. The IAF pilots also love the Mirage’s .They have seen action during the Kargil war (Operation Safed Sagar) and the Rafale has had a share of its own action over the skies in Afghanistan and Libya.

The Euro Fighter Typhoon too has been in action over Libya and was cleared for deployment in Afghanistan. Both the aircraft boasts about sensor fusion technologies however they excel in capabilities in some aspects over the other. Typhoon holds significantly more air to air capabilities than the Rafale  since it currently has a higher performance engine with the future development and integration of the TVC (Thrust Vector Control) nozzles this is only going to get better. The Typhoon also is more maneuverable than the Rafale thanks to its aerodynamically unstable design and delta-canards.

Rafale on the other hand is like they say a true “omni-role” fighter it has better air to ground attack capabilities than the Typhoon and is capable of holding on its own against an other fighter. Both these fighters are equipped with AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar’s. The Rafale is already in active duty with the French Navy while the Typhoon on the other hand is yet to do so although a plan for the development of a naval Typhoon is underway.

Both these fighter are state of the art and are more than capable of dealing with what the adversaries might throw against the Indian Air Force in the future although it’s pretty difficult to say even now which air craft the IAF might go for and comparatively both these aircraft are so alike in operational aspects so the selling point might come in the form of additional package on offer with these fighters.

Dassault Rafale wins Indian Air Force Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft Competition

French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation wins Indian Air Force MMRCA deal worth $10.4 Billion on January 31st 2012. India plans to buy 126 aircraft from the company for the coming ten years. Sources say that the process of lowest bidder has been completed, Rafale emerged winner against the European Eurofighter Typhoon. According to the deal 18 aircraft will be directly bought from Dassault Aviation and the rest 108 aircraft will be manufactured in India with partnership with Indian companies.

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Comments (62)

1. Alan Hensher on July 14th, 2011 at 1:40 am
   The Rafale's superior air to ground attack capability and its established ability to operate from aircraft carriers gives it a marked advantage
   over the Typhoon and it costs about 1million Euros less. Close air support to ground forces and flexibility in operating from sea or land are more relevant to predictable conflict scenarios than the air to air environment which is Typhoon's milieu.
2. Dylan on July 16th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
   I agree on some points, but a higher performance engine and better maneuverability would make up for a bit of the difference in the other categories surely. i think the difference wil be in cost tradeoffs and as the article said the packages on offer
3. L.V. Prasad on September 19th, 2011 at 9:37 pm
   Every one agrees that Typhoon is more modern and agile than Rafael. It is loaded with most of the advanced avionics produced in Europe. A promising AESA radar that would be more modern than the America AESA radars is going to be installed in it. More over the European consortium is offering partnership through which modern design technics and extensive usage of composites could be learnt. With the spin off technology, we can build our AMCA comparable to western fighters. Looking into future, the cost of Typhoon is nothing particularly when advanced technologies are going to be obtained. Four brains (Germany, Italy, Spain and UK) are better then one brain (France). Let us hope that the Typhoon wins the Indian MMRCA competition.
4. Abhijit on September 25th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
   I do agree that the typhoon is more agile than the rafale, but there are dobts regarding total transfer of technology to India.On the other hand it seems that rafale might lease out more of its technologies to the Indian companies,thus improving our own aerospace companies.
5. Falcon on October 7th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
   Remember IAF obsession with light aircrafts..Mig LFI etc. The Typhoon almost touches on a heavy class aircraft for which the IAF has the Su30 MKI in good numbers. What they are looking for is a medium weight multi role aircraft..Though the Typhoon performs marginally better than a Rafale, its cost and weight does not justify it. Also I came to know that the AMCA designers were more interested in the Rafale technology transfer as it is very similar the AMCA and LCA design.
6. Katar Hol on October 8th, 2011 at 3:58 am
   Guys you forget that India has Nuclear weapons. Which aircraft have better capabilities in order to display air to ground Nuclear missiles? Maybe this subject could incline the balance.
7. Common sense on October 12th, 2011 at 10:18 am
   None of the aircraft in the competition were provided with any nuclear strike capabilities, so in theory they are all the same. The IAF would have had to modify them.

   Currently, only the Rafale has an integrated nuclear attack role with the ASMP-A cruise missile, so while it does have an advantage there, that may not matter since the capability by itself is not for export.
8. common sense on October 12th, 2011 at 10:22 am
   How exactly is the Eurofighter more 'modern' than the Rafale? The two projects had one common birth so they are roughly analogous technology wise. As it is, the Rafale is currently more 'advanced' and has more capabilities than the Eurofighter now. The Eurofighter with it's bigger engines and wing configuration is more manoeuvrable than the Rafale, but that's more useful in the supersonic, high energy regime; the Rafale's close-coupled canard configuration gives it a small edge in a slow-speed dogfight. So it essentially depends on what the IAF would want from either of these two capabilities.
9. vikram on October 29th, 2011 at 9:59 pm
   Ah… The Agony of Choice
10. Saud on November 20th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
    This may sound stupid, but I have flown 160 Jetcat Turbine RC models of both the Air crafts and found Rafale more stable in the air with rolls, invert and vertical, so even a bit less powered Rafale would fly better than Eurofighter…
11. Kishana on November 22nd, 2011 at 2:56 pm
    For sure Aesa radar in developement by 2015 which is offered by european consortium is likely to have a bigger range But its nowhere near what F-35 F-18 have.

    And top of that rafale has proven aesa radar proven combat perfomance in air to ground and it operates with a lesspowerful snecma engine M88 a much powerful engine with thrust vectoring that Franch are on their way to develop will boost rafale up.

    For sure If as said Typhoon comes up with thrust vectoring engine and its AESA radar is actually having large range and advanced and fast as F-18 got then its a real deal but these projects are in pipeline while AESA radar will come by 2015 the chances of a thrust vectoring engine seems distant may be 2020?? as there is no project yet lol.Also euronations are seeing F-35 as their strike fighter so it furthers dump the chance.Any research will be on the cost of INR.

    Also tranche3 of typhoon doesn't give any chance of future growth and will be the last to come out of factory.

    While aerodynamically Rafale is superior and have huge growth potential in future and is relatively cheaper belongs to france IAF already have a infrastructure available for that.
    Typhoon will be a completely new thing and they will come by 2020 and IAF will need 6-7 years to completely master them.

    While typhoon belongs to four nation plus lots of american component in that it will be really hard bargain to get complete tech transferred.
    While France is more than ready to provide full access and experience with mirage and marut works in their favor.

    Also in future a much improved engine than m88 is on the card too.
    Also must be noticed that rafale provides such aerodynamics class with such a less powerful engine which typhoon don't.
    So in future Rafale has more chance to improve on typhoon.Also if we see despite all the claims by typhoon consortium of its 82% chance against su-30mki or su35bm in aeroindia show it was clearly acknowledged that su30mki is superior to it.

    So one can easily cancel all their big claims of typhoon killing 4.5 sukhoi over one lolz.

    Don't go by what written on net rafale has a combat radius of 1800km compared to 1400km of typhoon and is aerodynamically superior with proven AESA radar and with better engine and growth potential it has can simply outdo the likes of typhoon which is too expensive at 110 million a piece while a F-35 cost around 140 million and pakfafgfaT-50 at around 105-110 million a piece.

    I think India should go for rafale at 10.4 billion dollar (typhoon will cost about 14 billion) and make a copy of it just like chinese do to in the Indian production line(tot in place and own production line in India a few changes can do that we don't need to reverse engineer them like china and so will have better chance to improve on rafale which got superior design)Also its semi stealthy and France is developing to make it more stealthy and a few programs are successful too
    and will improve this more

    Also
    There is no need to spend on tejas product we have achieved what we wanted now look for better and achieve rafale like tejas mk2 version or name it (rajiv gandhi sonia or rahul to appease congress for this project lolz). Also with plasma stealth in place we can make it more stealthy(we will get it from T-50 jv with Russia)

    Also this will reduce the risk of failure of amca project and our dependence on foreign jets at such high end price.
    And with the best missile like meteor ASTRA R77–AV (improved
    version) and Brahmos2 in pipeline with helena missile we have the best
    missiles in arsenal.

    India doesn't have required level of tech to produce a world class engine and it will take atleast 20 years to be at top level so we can just go on to shift the manufacturing of al-31f engine in India as a part of fgfa deal with sukhoi.
    Or even work on their cryogenic engine core and develop a lighter more efficient engine in jv to produce thrust vector. This will further boost to our dependency on foreign engine for a few decade atleast till our own infrastructure is developed.

    produce 5-6 hundred something like that to support FGFA and reducing the chinese no. game with high tech and increase number of jets.

    And please don't force something like tejas on IAF.
    Mig-35 at 38 million are a better choice and they are terrific in dogfights just field it against f-16 and their tinbox jf-16 am sure all those tinbox will be out with minimum casualty.And with thrust vectoring it is best among all contenders(can't say against rafale or typhoon as its pesaradar is not yet functional) It is the fastest among all and the only one after typhoon to supercruise with weapon loaded though it is way faster than typhoon too and with thrust vector now can outsmart the very best in dogfight and will be stealthy upto 60 degree.
12. kishana on November 22nd, 2011 at 2:59 pm
    I think India should go for rafale at 10.4 billion dollar (typhoon will cost about 14 billion) and make a copy of it just like chinese do to in the Indian production line(tot in place and own production line in India a few changes can do that we don't need to reverse engineer them like china and so will have better chance to improve on rafale which got superior design)Also its semi stealthy and France is developing to make it more stealthy and a few programs are successful too
    and will improve this more

    Also
    There is no need to spend on tejas product we have achieved what we wanted now look for better and achieve rafale like tejas mk2 version or name it (rajiv gandhi sonia or rahul to appease congress for this project lolz). Also with plasma stealth in place we can make it more stealthy(we will get it from T-50 jv with Russia)

    Also this will reduce the risk of failure of amca project and our dependence on foreign jets at such high end price.
    And with the best missile like meteor ASTRA R77–AV (improved
    version) and Brahmos2 in pipeline with helena. Taurus mica and meteor coming up too.
    missile we have the best
    missiles in arsenal.
    India doesn't have required level of tech to produce a world class engine and it will take atleast 20 years to be at top level so we can just go on to shift the manufacturing of al-31f engine in India as a part of fgfa deal with sukhoi.
    Or even work on their cryogenic engine core and develop a lighter more efficient engine in jv to produce thrust vector. This will further boost to our dependency on foreign engine for a few decade atleast till our own infrastructure is developed.

    produce 5-6 hundred something like that to support FGFA and reducing the chinese no. game with high tech and increase number of jets.

    And please don't force something like tejas on IAF.
    Mig-35 at 38 million are a better choice and they are terrific in dogfights just field it against f-16 and their tinbox jf-16 am sure all those tinbox will be out with minimum casualty.And with thrust vectoring it is best among all contenders(can't say against rafale or typhoon as its pesaradar is not yet functional) It is the fastest among all and the only one after typhoon to supercruise with weapon loaded though it is way faster than typhoon too and with thrust vector now can outsmart the very best in dogfight and will be stealthy upto 60 degree.

    The thing that it lacks is advanced avionics defensive system and radar(may be pesa radar is as good as they claim to be but can't match the likes of what an f-18 operate.)
    But Thanks to the infrastructure develop for tejas in avionics we can work on its avionics with integrating french and Israeli avionics like we did for su-30mki and israeli elta mode radar
    and radar jammer it will be in its fullthrottle and as advanced as typhoon and much better in performance and giving Indian RD_93 engine production line here for all its production and future export too.Also we can assert Russia to stop giving engines for jf-17 then as they can't give reason of financial condition of mig consort then.making pak to operate with chinese ws10 engine which are proven one for their performance haha.Leaving PAF 175-200 jets completely 3rd grade tinbos flying coffins.
    And if You wish to spend on something expensive look at F-35 for future but cautiously.

    At end a fighter is as good as its capability to have best class of weaponry aerodynamics and IAF knows this better when we completely outclass the F-86 sabre with our small gnats aka sabre slayers (despite the fact that world used to mock at them at that time specially pakis , Though after 71 they for sure must be a crack of jock for themselves lolz)

    IAF Rocks.
13. kishana on November 22nd, 2011 at 3:05 pm
    I completely agree with you rafale has a much better aerodynamics and that too with a lesspowerful engine.
    It's good to know you got world's best to fly so would love to know your take on rafale with better thrust vectoring engine against Typhoon in dogfight .

    Also despite al the post about typhoon bettering sukhoi30 mki it was nowwhere against it when get in real action with a IAF fighter in aeroshow.

    So it would be better to go for rafale that is comparable and with IAF pilots having experience of flying mirages since 80s is logically better choice.
14. kishana on November 22nd, 2011 at 4:24 pm
    Saud the canard rafale have close to its wings provide it more stability while in typhoon it's for maneuverability so oviously rafale is more stable and aerodynamically performed better just wish to know about how maneuver rafale is also as a escort to sukhoi which do you think will perform better i guess typhoon is good at that but how much i would like to know.

    Also though rafale is a beauty to look at the radar range offered by typhoon aesa is much better and how would you rate rafale with a kaveri engine giving 95kn thrust or a better engine against typhoon.
15. hershawe on November 22nd, 2011 at 11:22 pm
    both are close but its the industrial offshoots and tech transfers that really fuel this deal,
16. Saud on November 27th, 2011 at 12:55 am
    Oh oh oh… hold on guys… I'm just a RC (Radio Control) Aircraft Pilot… started it as a hobby turned out to become a passion and then got involved with some small drones projects in scientific club… I may not be the right person to guess the maneuverability of the planes from the ground… you guys seem to be hardcore aviators… I'm not …
    I can only tell you how it feels to fly different scale models with same capacity engine from the ground with a radio controller…
17. FARHAN KARIM BAKHSH on December 6th, 2011 at 2:43 am
    sir with due respect i want to say that rafale is more agile and maneuverable than typhoon if u dobt on my point of view so pls go to youtube and watch both jet fighters performing in diffrent air shows than compare both of them and than u decide who will be a winner. other point i want to explain to u . rafale have no international contracts and also france has good relationship with india thats the reason why france very keen to tranfer of tecknology to india and the other hand raf typhoon lost the air to air close combat against paf f 16 because man behind machine ….
18. arundo on December 6th, 2011 at 3:15 am
    The recently released Swiss technical evaluation placed the Rafale far above the EF as well in air to air (both defensive and offensive) as in air to ground capabilities
    Furthermore, EF will not have all its air to ground capabilities before 2018, according to the British National Audit Office.
19. Mayur Manapure on December 13th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
    I think IAF should go with Rafale as i think it comes with TOT and excellent se rvice record of the Mirage, we can opt for this French product. Plus as stated above in the article if we can integrate with it Kaveri it will reduce our future upgradation costs and it will be a good testbed for technology used in AMCA.
20. Connor on December 18th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
    Eurofighter is the better fighter……why? well although the rafale is a good fighter too, if we put these fighters head to head then the Tyhoon will no doubt come out on top the Eurofighter was designed for air to air fighting the rafale was designed for a more multirole role. thats what i think anyways.
21. vova_net on December 24th, 2011 at 2:57 am
    MIG-unbeatable, the Red Army all stronger!
22. kannott marar on December 24th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
    rafale is very muchness of good, very less sqaure meters of reflections then eurofighter with maw of inlets gaping., and compressor blades scintilatting radar back to foe. Thales spectra may offer better awareness of situtations for man inside cockpit, does eurofighter have such input of systems? Air to air eurofighter may be above, that of rafale, but air to ground and delverence of ordenaice is less then good. tranche 3 can improve?? maybe but costs included ?? or to be added. __ big down thing is no navalized eurofighter, then indian navy must then have monies for 1. navlaization of eurofighter big $$$ or buy other aircrafts with naval attributions. Nvay ready Rafale already exists , so part and service commonalities and economy is there for good times. __ Also i mentalize that tejas be airfame with high goodness above all, if kaveri indigenous powerplant , has injection of snecma inputs if francias quote is tendered . Core of engine wiht single cystal blades , also ceramaic coats as well, then tejas will be and is above pakistani dogs engine in jf-17 that is mig 29 chinese copy, It makes smoke in air so that airplanes will be seen at large l
23. Pradhyuman on January 3rd, 2012 at 1:51 am
    I think india should go with france(rafale). Currently, Its a much better plane than typhoon in range,dogfight,avoinics and in technology. If india chosses typhoon, then we have to build whole new infrastucture for them and also our pilots are not familier with them. If india chosse rafale then we can use its technology in our future aircraft program amca. Rafale is cheaper than typhoon, so india can purchase more rafale from france. Also, france is a good friend of india thats why france will be happy with our decesion and shall supply rafale quicker to india wihtin 3.5-4.5 years.
24. wommom on January 9th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
    Rafel is mature and fully multirole aircrafts . It took infrared images of F-22 . But Eurofighter has Pilot error correction and command by speach capabilities. Gants were from Britain and so do Eurofighter 40% .

    However these aircrafts contain Composite materials and painted with RAM. So the weather at Manufacturing plant must be around. 15 c F to 31 c F temperature . Other wise Use of Ram and composite materials is use less. This is a written fact.

    It is difficult in India to find such a place in North India the temperature would go very low below 5 c F and dry weather problem.
    In north east heavy rain fall. West very close to pakistan and hot dry weather . At coastal humidity issue .
    In south India temperature as High as 35 c F or more.

    All the stealth aircrafts have to be manufacture out side India . Because , do you have any city in India that has average moderate temperature ?

    answere is No one.
25. wommom on January 9th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
    What I say is stealth feature also depends upon the composite materials and RAM coating. Also some of the components required to stealth aircrafts are manufacture in a place were the temperature is moderate temperature , dryness in weather required ,humidity level , low moisture etc.

    In fact polluted environment are said to be far better and suitable, seems to be funny but at point to be noted.

    So India has to bring all aircrafts in Fly away condition other wise it is obsolete stealth suit.

    The big question is Is there a place were temperature is moderate and far away from sea and Pakistan ?
    Ans No.

    So stealth aircrafts cannot be manufactured in India. If MMRCA needs Stealth.

    Or else only final assembling can be done in India.

    I dont no why people are neglecting this point , even government and media are neglecting , Please people discuss about this point also .

    Regards,
    Indian brother.
26. Fox on January 12th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
    Like in Solenzara or ATLC or the suiss evaluation or the netherland evaluation or the south corean evaluation…
    Typhoon is only good when it fly beyond mach 1 with just an AtoA Payload
27. fox on January 12th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
    Intresting, do you have some liks (i'm studing those materials for personal intrest)
28. kikl on January 17th, 2012 at 12:27 am
    Any airplane can drop bombs. The only reason why the rafale has an edge in this area is that the Eurofighter was primarily designed as an air superiority fighter. Germany, Italy and the UK are still using the Tornado as bomber. But, you can fit the typhoon with bombs as much as you like. These are the air-to-ground missiles and bombs for the Typhoon:

    Rockets: AGM-65 Maverick, in the future; AGM-88 HARM, in the future; Storm Shadow (AKA Scalp EG), in the future; Brimstone, in the future; Taurus KEPD 350; Penguin, in the future; AGM Armiger, in the future;

    Bombs: 6× 500lb Paveway™ IV, Paveway II/III/Enhanced Paveway series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs), Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), in the future; HOPE/HOSBO, in the future

    I think that's plenty and if India is especially interested in one of these weapons it can definitely contribute to their progression. Truly outstanding weapons currently available for the Eurofighter are these:

    Iris-T: The best short range air-to-air missile. You can even fire it on opponents in 6-o-clock position http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRIS-T

    KEPD 350 Taurus: First class air-to-ground cruise missile capable of busting bunkers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_missile

    Paveway IV: Advanced laser guided bomb: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paveway_IV
29. James on January 29th, 2012 at 8:05 pm
    The typhoon is not only newer than the rafale but flys much better two. both planes are very similar but france just cant accept defeat on this one. the rafale is more of a bomber but it isnt exactley suited for a bomber while the typhoon is a well detailed anglo-european fighter.
30. Chance Aviator on January 31st, 2012 at 6:16 pm
    Well the debate rests today… India opted for Dassault Rafale. Possibly the decision makers saw more merit in Dassault Rafale as compared to the Euro Fighter.
31. CSB on January 31st, 2012 at 8:24 pm
    very true
32. Gautam on February 1st, 2012 at 9:40 am
    Someone give this guy the book 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves'. He will gain some knowledge on punctuation after that.
33. spectator on February 1st, 2012 at 10:06 am
    I'd prefer the one that looks better during the Republic day parade!
34. anmg on February 1st, 2012 at 1:49 pm
    dont speak about cost . cost is not an issue. only requirement and performance has to be considered.
35. kshitij on February 1st, 2012 at 8:16 pm
    eurofighter typhoon should be selected
36. Stalin Cruz on February 1st, 2012 at 9:16 pm
    I think India should split the contract between Rafale and Typhoon in doing this we will gain by having a. Both the top class fighters b. Technology transfer c. Better to keep 5 countries happy rather than just 1 country , this will help us garner support in political matters internationally. d. We will have uninterrupted supply of spares e. Also prevent our next door neighbours from having access to similar aircrafts. So I think this is the best way.
37. Guest on February 1st, 2012 at 9:50 pm
    Integrated chips, that make up the heart of modern day electronics, are manufactured in settings which have zero dust. Such situations do not naturally exist anywhere in the world (maybe except for Antarctica), but are created around the manufacturing process. It is not difficult to replicate any temperature, humidity and other air quality parameters in a manufacturing plant designed accordingly.
38. Ajay on February 1st, 2012 at 11:46 pm
    Rafael's class plus add-in the IAF pilot's technical and manouevering ability I think you've got a winner that can match the Typhoon pound to pound !
39. lazii lopper on February 2nd, 2012 at 12:49 am
    Bangalore 
40. Durgesh on February 2nd, 2012 at 12:52 am
    Rafale is good choice

    it suits indian condition in northeast and northwest

    for areas beyond country borders, we will have JSF with and existing sukhoi MKI

    when is deal signing? What would be scam amount? When will it be unearthed?

    Liking french already for technology transfer and advance upgradation

    we will use it in our LCA Tejas for border patrolling and earn through its export potential as cheapest and competent fighter in its category

    ganapati bappa moraya
41. Rodger on February 2nd, 2012 at 2:36 am
    This may be true to the Indan navy!Not so true in a carier based strike force,The cost to efficancy ratio is unsurpassed.
    and one of the most striking facts of the euro fighter is the harrier style take offs it has .
42. Nish on February 2nd, 2012 at 3:48 am
    guys guys, why everybody having their own opinion on jets, hve anybody think abt IAF why did they choose Rafael over typhoon,
    there must be an major difference and will be i believe,
    cause this is an multi billion $ deal, IAF cannot go wrong this this else they r finished…
    there was many hours of flys and days of research over this in IAF, so they r the one who will fly these expensive jets and they r the one who is going to make our country safe from others.. so guys lets not discuss over superriority of the jets,.. We should accept IAF's desicion and well come rafael as our saver..
43. samboro19 on February 2nd, 2012 at 4:37 am
    this is the worst decision ever made by india. by the time they will be delivered they will be obsolete.india should have gone for 5th generation stealth aircraft like the F-35 or F-22.
44. snd on February 2nd, 2012 at 3:50 pm
    It is a wrong decision to procure 4th generation by making deal now. At the time of delivery India needs 5th generation aircraft. Its my opinion that now if IAF tries to goes for fifth generation aircraft and upgrade its basement to fit for 5th generation aircraft. It could be better for the country to stay ahead against our stupid neighbouring countries like chaina & pakistan.
45. r.s.soni on February 2nd, 2012 at 4:58 pm
    UPA Goverenment is notorious in making faulty decisions. euro fighter and f -16/15 are superior to rafel in all respects. cancel the deal go for f-16 or euro fighter
46. ananth on February 3rd, 2012 at 9:06 am
    i also think the same, as once the technology transfer is done, we can use latest raders and otheres in our existing fighters…. and also we can develop our own fighter in near future…
47. Daulat Singh Lodha on February 3rd, 2012 at 12:55 pm
    There may be little difference in the capabilities of both the Aircrafts but it is not right to call rafale inferior. Beside Saudis own Typhons and Pakistanis not only operates, they enjoy full acces and patronage from those Wahabi fundamentalists against India. Imagine the consequences in context of a future conflict with Pakistan.
    Seecting Rafale is right deciscion.
    DS LODHA
48. AAditya mehra on February 3rd, 2012 at 1:19 pm
    Dassault Rafale will come with AESA radar in India.
    .
    this is promised by dassault corp.
49. lololol on February 5th, 2012 at 8:45 am
    I hope India gets the Rafale, then the European forces will beat the shit out of them with the EF2000's!
50. rajan on February 6th, 2012 at 2:29 am
    for whole Europe Airforce our 200 Su-30 MKIs and 250 PAK-FA are enough
51. Expatozman on February 8th, 2012 at 12:10 am
    The decsion by the IAF to purchase the Rafael rather than the far superior Typhoon is quite cleary a political one rather than based on sound military judgement. There is still the anti-colonial lobby in India that resents the British Raj & all it represents in Indian history. PAF get your checkbooks out. India get real!
52. Genies on February 8th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
    The Rafale is a far better plane, not only in air to ground, but also in air to sea and in air to air. The EF/2000 is, unfortunately, a total failure (poor design, limited capabilities, logistical nightmare, over budget, etc …) and is already about to be replaced by JST F-35 by U-K (they have so little confidence in that plane that they will dump it after less than 18 years of use).

    If you add the superb capabilities of the Rafale to the fact that its technology is more advanced and that it is a cheaper airplane than the EF/2000. It is obvious that it was the only choice for India (they are smart buyers and they know value for money).
53. Expatozman on February 9th, 2012 at 12:13 am
    The only way to settle this argument is in a one to one air combat situation. As India is unlikely to declare war on Saudi & any other of the wise purchasers of the superb EF/2000. Even less likey is that France will start a war with any other NATO country although history shows that France has the habit of going it alone as was evident when it fought on BOTH sides in WW2! Post WW2 France went it alone as far as NATO is concerned by claiming membership of the alliance whilst pursusing its own independent nuclear deterent at the exclusion of a tried & trusted US systems. This at the expense of Greenpeace & the crew of the Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand. The french is no longer a global imperial power so should develop weapons with the co-operation of fellow NATO countries. The benefits are many including compatibiliy in a combat situation, sharing of technology for the common good of the alliance, cost saving & the strengthening of the alliance.
54. Roquelaure on February 12th, 2012 at 12:47 am
    Prove it !
55. Roquelaure on February 12th, 2012 at 12:59 am
    ……."the far superior Typhoon"…… It's a joke ! Prove it ! and read this : http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/flight-…
56. Zack on February 12th, 2012 at 5:30 am
    If your neighbours are stupid why bother staying ahead of them?
57. Chenir on February 13th, 2012 at 4:36 am
    Just read this : http://files.newsnetz.ch/upload//1/2/12332.pdf

    It's an official swiss air force study, commissioned for the choice of their new fighter aircrafts. It clearly shows the Rafale is superior to the Eurofighter on EVERY aspect, air police, ground attack, recon, defense counter air and offensive counter air. It also shows that even with the projected improvments proposed by Eurofighter, the Typhoon will still stay inferior to the Rafale as tested in 2008. And France/switzerland is far from being at their best right now. So there is no question, there are more and more proof that the Rafale is far superior to the Eurofailter. This, 2009 ATLC in the UAE (simulated BVR combats, 7-1 for the Rafale against the Typhoon), Lybia (this has been an amazing show of how the Typhoon is bad. An awful availability, operationnal capacities close to null.
58. Charles on February 15th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
    I guess F-35 and F22 are out of picture since India wasnt looking for a heavy fighter not a 5th gen aircraft… The search was for 126 jets and with in a border range of 12 billion US$…
    Fighter numbers and technology was the main concern…
    With F22 there wont b 126 jets for 12 billion…. but less than 80 jets…. But ofcourse of superior technology but the trade off would be the number of jets..
    Also NOTE: F35 is still on the drawing board and expensive than F22 and F22 is not for foreign sale
59. LittleEnglander on February 17th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
    India should have waited 4-6 years and bought the F-35.

    The Typhoon project is an expensive joke that aptly demonstrates how bad European countries are at working together on anything, especially defence projects (and I say that as a European myself). I actually commend the French for building a broadly comparable aircraft at a cheaper price (although, with the French you can never tell how much subsidy the government is providing).

    As long as India helps us bomb Iran when the time comes I don't mind which jets they buy!!
60. Agni Gaecoie on February 19th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
    European countries are not so bad on Airbus…
61. Indian on February 22nd, 2012 at 1:53 am
    We are making our own stealth fighter with Russia. It will be commissioned by 2016. Why should we buy F35 with 4X price?
62. Indian on February 22nd, 2012 at 1:58 am
    F16 is obsoleted by US army already. You better keep it out of discussion.

    eurofighter--