By Ajit Dubey

New Delhi [India], October 30 (ANI): India is further boosting its aerial combat capabilities with the planned acquisition of a significant number of Meteor air-to-air missiles for the Indian Air Force's frontline Rafale fighter jet fleet.

The Rafale combat aircraft fleet is the only one in the Indian Air Force capable of firing the European long-range missiles with a range of up to 200 kilometres.

Defence sources told ANI that the around Rs 1,500 crore proposal for purchasing these Meteor beyond-visual-range missiles, manufactured by the European firm MBDA, is at an advanced stage in the Defence Ministry and is likely to be approved in a high-level meeting planned to be held soon.

The Indian Air Force has ordered Meteors, along with the first batch of 36 Rafales that it acquired from France in 2016, and they are also part of the 26 naval Rafales that are scheduled to arrive over the next few years.

India successfully destroyed Pakistani military and terrorist targets during Operation Sindoor, forcing it to seek a ceasefire within four days of the conflict in May this year.

The Indian fighter jets that attacked used long-range standoff weapons to strike enemy targets, after which the Pakistan Air Force tried to retaliate in a big way, using its air-to-air and surface-to-air weapons of Chinese origin, but failed miserably.

Sources said that the Pakistan Air Force fired a large number of PL-15 air-to-air missiles at Indian planes without any success. The Pakistanis have been acquiring missiles from the Chinese in significant numbers in the last few years.

India has now undertaken a major programme to equip all its fleets with strong BVR capability, as it plans to purchase around 700 Astra Mark 2 air-to-air missiles, which the Defence Research and Development Organisation will develop.

The missiles will have a capability of hitting targets at over 200 kms and will be equipped for the Su-30 and the LCA fleets. The Rafale fleet would be equipped with the Meteor and may receive an indigenous anti-radiation missile in the future. (ANI)