Former aviation chief of staff, BS Dhanoa, welcomed Rafales' arrival in India on Wednesday and said he defended the deal to obtain the multi-functional aircraft despite political controversy to prevent it from following the Bofors path.
The alleged benefits of acquiring a batch of Bofors weapons in the mid-1980s and its subsequent political ramifications had severely paralyzed defense acquisitions as bureaucrats were concerned with making decisions about military purchases.
"I defended the deal because I did not want it to follow the Bofors path. We were against the politicization of the defense acquisition process. It was a matter of Air Force capability," chief of (retired) Marshal Dhanoa told PTI. .
On Wednesday, India received the first batch of five Rafale planes, almost four years after signing an intergovernmental agreement with France to acquire 36 of the planes at a cost of Rs 59 billion rupees. The IAF received Rafale planes 23 years after it imported Sukhoi-30 Ks from Russia in 1997.
"I am very happy for the Indian Air Force as (Rafale) has given the Air Force a tremendous leap in capacity and technological asymmetry on our adversaries, something that was missing for so long," said Dhanoa.
Mr. Dhanoa was succeeded by Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria as Chief of the Air Staff in September last year.
Air Chief Maritime (retired) Arup Raha, under whose mandate the mega deal was signed, said the induction of the fleet will strengthen the IAF's capacity, but added that the country needs at least 126 fighter jets as planned. previously.
"It is a good aircraft. It is one of the best in the region. It will enhance the IAF's capabilities in terms of aerospace power, which has been declining for quite some time since there has been no fighter jet induction for quite some time," he said. he said to PTI.
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