New Delhi . After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India had counter-attacked against Pakistan through ‘Operation Sindoor’. It was also a great success. Euphoric with this victory, the Indian Air Force is now going to further strengthen its firepower. It is planning to purchase a large number of ‘Meteor’ air-to-air missiles soon. These missiles will give new heights to India’s Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) capability. These European-made missiles have a ramjet propulsion system, which gives them high speed, long strike range and “first strike, first victory” efficiency.
According to government sources, the proposal to purchase these missiles from MBDA company is in the final stages in the Defense Ministry. It is likely to be approved in a high level meeting soon.
Currently, the Indian Air Force already has Meteor missiles deployed on 36 Rafale fighter aircraft purchased from France in 2016. These missiles will also be included in the 26 Rafale marine jets ordered for the Indian Navy in the coming years.
Benefit found in Operation Sindoor
During Operation Sindoor in May, Indian forces destroyed many Pakistani military bases and terrorist bases in precise strikes. Indian fighter aircraft targeted enemy positions from long range, following which the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) retaliated with Chinese PL-15 missiles, but could not cause any significant damage. According to sources, Pakistan fired a large number of Chinese PL-15 missiles but they failed to hit the Indian aircraft.
India has taken steps towards strengthening its indigenous missile system along with foreign missiles. DRDO is currently developing more than 700 ‘Astra Mark-II’ missiles, which will have a range of more than 200 kilometers. These will be installed on Sukhoi-30 and Tejas (LCA) aircraft. At the same time, there is a plan to provide indigenous anti-radiation missiles to the Rafale fleet along with Meteor missiles in future.
According to defense experts, after receiving the new batch of Meteor missiles, there will be a qualitative increase in India’s air border security and ability to attack the enemy from a distance.