More than 100 attacks in the world, zero loss… Will India buy the world’s fastest fighter aircraft F-15EX? Join the race
India is going to buy 114 fighter jets under the MRFA program. The Indian government is planning to acquire dangerous fighter jets through a fast-track global tender in the next four to five years. SAAB Gipren and Rafale fighter jets were already involved in this race, but now Boeing’s F-15 Strike Eagle has also joined it, which is considered the fastest aircraft in the world. Indian news agency NNI has quoted Indian defense sources as saying that the Indian government is going to issue a tender for 114 multi-role fighters this year. It is believed that this deal will fill the shortage of decreasing fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force.
There are only 31 squadrons left in the Indian Air Force fleet, while the need is for at least 42 squadrons. The Air Force has the least number of fighter aircraft left since 1965. While China is constantly increasing the number of fighter aircraft. China has included two types of fifth generation fighter aircraft J-20 and J-35 in its Air Force, which has increased India’s concern. The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) already has more than 200 J-20 stealth aircraft and plans to increase the number of these aircraft to more than 1000 by 2035. Which increases India’s concern.
India’s AMCA program is very late
India is working on the indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program to build fifth-generation fighter aircraft. But this project is very late. Jets are not expected to be built under this project for at least 10 years. While in November last year, China has also launched its second fifth-generation aircraft, the Shenyang J-35 stealth fighter. What is even more worrying for India is that the Indian Air Force’s aircraft will continue to decrease in the coming years. The aircraft that will be phased out of the Indian Air Force in the next 10-12 years include Jaguar, Mirage-2000 and MiG-29.
Apart from this, India’s indigenously designed and developed LCA Tejas (MK1A and MK2 variants) are facing repeated delays. Therefore, the MRFA (Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft) deal has become an important part of India’s defense strategy. Defense sources have told ANI that the Indian Air Force wants to achieve the number of 60 fighter aircraft squadrons by the year 2047. The Indian Air Force believes that the inclusion of MRFA jets in the next five to ten years will be very important to deal with the war on two fronts. A high-level committee headed by Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has recently submitted its report to Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. It has acknowledged the need for the Indian Air Force to acquire 114 multirole fighter aircraft to enhance its combat capabilities.
Eagle joins the MRFA race
The American F-15 Eagle first flew in 1972 and came into service in 1976. No other US fighter jet has flown for such a long time. Despite entering active service nearly half a century ago, the F-15 is still considered a very dangerous fighter. Although it does not have stealth features like fifth-generation fighters, such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35, the F-15EX has tremendous combat capabilities. Its payload capacity is unmatched, due to which it is also called a “bomb truck”. An old report by the Eurasian Times states that the F-15EX Eagle II is designed to carry about 30,000 pounds of weapons. Apart from this, the F-15EX can fly with 12 air-to-air missiles. Heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinders and AIM-120 AMRAAMs BVR missiles can be installed in this fighter jet. At the same time, about 24 air-to-ground weapons can be loaded in it, including stand-off weapons, cruise missiles and smart bombs for ground attack missions. The F-15EX is an agile fighter jet that can fly at a speed of Mach 2.5 (about 2,800 mph). Due to its tremendous range and high speed, it can become an excellent option for the Indian Air Force. The F-15EX has the latest electronic war system, due to which radars cannot detect its weapons. The firepower of the F-15 fighter planes is so high that many air superiority fighters around the world are also out of reach. In the last 50 years, the US has lost about 125 F-15 aircraft. The reason behind this is mainly pilot error or ground incidents. This means that less than two aircraft have been destroyed per 100,000 flight hours, which is a great record, which is a proof of the durability and performance of the F-15.
US reports revealed that the readiness of the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor has dropped from 52% to 40.19%, while the F-35A has a mission-capability rate of 51.5% but the F-15EX has achieved an 83.13% mission-success rate, putting it ahead of fifth-generation aircraft by a huge margin. Boeing claims that the F-15EX Eagle II can fly with a payload capacity of 29,500 pounds (13,300 kg), including large weapons. Therefore, the F-15EX can prove to be an excellent option for India to deal with rapidly evolving threats.
