A new era ushered into the history of India's military aviation as the Indian Air Force (IAF) added teeth to its already formidable strike arsenal when the highly technologically advanced omnirole Rafale jets touched base in the Air Force base at Ambala on Wednesday and got inducted into the IAF's No.17 squadron, nicknamed as the 'Golden Arrows'.

The Dassault aviation manufactured 4.5 generation Rafale jets have been hailed as a game changing weapon for the Indian defence forces as it brings on board the most sophisticated weaponry platform, extensive combat multi-role engaging capability, best-in-class stealth , higher payload carrying capability and even the ability of executing nuclear strikes.

Rafale's addition to the India Air Force arsenal given it a combative edge of sorts in aerial warfare against both its adversaries China and Pakistan, as the French fighter jet is the first ever 4.5 generation combat aircraft to be inducted in the IAF. The current fighter fleet of the IAF comprises largely of the 3rd or 4th generation Sukhoi-20 (Su-30s) , MiG 29s and the Mirage 2000s.

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The long awaited arrival of the Rafale fighter jets have come at a critical juncture with the armies of the India and Chinese engaged in a stand-off along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh sector. With a massive build up of Chinese armoured coloumns, field artillery and deployment of the fighter jets close to the Line of Actual Control, Indian Air Forces also swung into action to keep a strong vigil and secure our airspace from any aerial misadventure by the adversary.

Following testing, the five Rafale aircraft are, reportedly, set to be immediately deployed near the border in Eastern Ladakh, as both, China and India continue disengagement procedures at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

It has become a burning issue and a matter of great interest among military experts and defence analysts as to how does the newly acquired Rafale jets stack up against China's frontline attack combat fighter, the Chengdu J20 in terms of avionics, stealth, speed, combat range and most importantly weapon carrying and striking capabilities.

Omnirole Rafale More Advanced And Versatile Than J20 In Terms Of Combat Engaging Capability 

While China's most potent fighter jet Chengdu J-20 is multi-role combat aircraft, capable of performing multiple strike and surveillance roles both during day/night roles in combat, the Rafale jets acquired by the IAF come under the category of "omnirole" fighter, which gives it the extra edge of going far beyond the conventional missions and performing multi-role actions within the same sortie.

"Rafale is far superior to the J-20, the Chengdu fighter of China. Even though it’s believed to be a 5th generation fighter, it is probably at best a 3.5 generation aircraft. It's got a third generation engine as we have in the Sukhoi," said Air Marshal R Nambiar (retd) who flight tested the Rafale fighter jets for India.

While Rafale jets come with both the single-seat and double seat configurations, the Chinese Chengdu J-20 only has a single-seat variant. According to the deal signed with Dassault Aviation, India will get 28 single-seat aircraft and eight twin-seaters for training purpose.

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Rafale Much Lighter In Weight, Can Carry More Weapons and Payload Than J-20

The Rafales are much lighter in weight that than the J-20s and are capable of carrying more fuel, payloads and weapons in all sort of altitudes and terrain. The empty weight of Rafale ranges from 9900 kg to 10600 kg depending on the variant and a maximum take-off weight of around 24500 kg.Meanwhile, the Chinese J-20 much more heavier with empty weight of over 19,000 kg and maximum take-off weight of 37,013 kg.

“It can lift load up to 1.5 times its weight, which means it can carry weapons and fuel much more capacity than the J-20,” said an IAF official.
Chengdu J-20 Holds Slight Advantage Over Rafale In Terms Of Cruise Speed

The Chengdu J-20 has got the slight edge over the Rafale when it comes to top cruise speed while in active combat flying. While Rafale can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1.8/750 kt (2,222.6 km per hour), the J-20 outscored the French jet with a top speed estimated around Mach 2.0 or 2,400 km per hour.

Rafale Much More Superior Than J-20 In Terms Of Operational Range

When it comes to how much of an operational range (max distance the aircraft can travel from the operating base) can these fighters engage the enemy plane in combat, Rafale is far superior to the J-20. The French aircraft has a flying range of around 3,700 km, which could be further increased by refueling it mid-air. As per GlobalSecurity.org, the J-20 has maximum flying range of of 2,000 km.Hence the Rafale can engage the J-20 from a much further distance.

Rafale And J-20 Are At Par In Terms of Rate of Climb

The Rate of Climb is another critical element in guaging the fighet aircraft’s manouerability and agility during dogfight. According to reports, the Rafale could climb around 60,000 feet per minute, the Chendu J-20 can climb at the rate of 304m/s or 59842.52 feet per minute, as per airforce-technology.com.
Rafale A Battle Hardened Fighter As Compared To J-20

Rafale has been a tried and tested fighter jet in active combat operations with more than 30,000 flight hours. The French Air Force used the Rafales extensively during combat in Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria. On the other hand, both JF-17 and Chengdu J-20 are yet to be tested in battles or war-like situations.