Are F-16 and Gripen really better than Tejas?
Recently Tejas’s second squadron Flying Bullets were inducted into the Indian Air Force. On this occasion, a look at the ability of India’s own fighter jet compared to the world.
The old MiG-21 aircraft of the Air Force will be replaced by Tejas
Tejas is often compared to F-16 and Gripen, know which fighter jet is better for IAF
On 27 May last month, the Indian Air Force started operating ‘Flying Bullets’, the second squadron of indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas. During this time Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria flew on an indigenous aircraft and started the process of operationalizing the FOC (Final Operational Clearance) aircraft. These are aircraft which are fully prepared for the conditions of the fighting and are likely to be deployed along the border with Pakistan. Tejas’s first squadron, formed earlier, consisted of aircraft with the IOC (Initial Operational Clearance) variant.
On this occasion, once again there was talk about the ability of Tejas in many circles and whenever it happens, it was weighed down by other famous fighter jets of the world, mainly F-16 of US and Gripen of Sweden’s ‘Saab’ company. goes.
There are plans to replace the much older MiG-21 aircraft from Tejas to India and there is no possibility of replacing the MiG-21 with any aircraft other than Tejas. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is about to get orders for 84 aircraft of Tejas Mark-1A soon, but still… Let’s take a look and understand the options of these three aircraft instead of MiG-21 for India. Which aircraft may prove to be the best.
What is the strength?
If you compare Tejas Gripen and F-16, Tejas is the lightest and smallest fighter aircraft among them but in terms of modernity it looks ahead of them on many fronts as it is newer than the other two. However, in terms of performance, both of them have an edge in terms of weapon carrying capacity and range, but Tejas is constantly being improved.
If any other country wants to choose one of these three aircraft, then it can definitely choose Gripen or F-16 but for India many experts buy Tejas in large numbers and not to choose these F-16 or Gripen. There are better reasons and there are some reasons.
Indigenous fighter aircraft constantly improving:
The most important thing that insists on buying indigenous fighter jets rather than any other country is that when the indigenous platform is promoted, it can be made according to need and make continuous improvements while the foreign fighter jet gets the rated capacity Which has to constantly depend on another country for repair and upgrade.
The same is the case with Tejas, its range, ability to do acrobatic and accurate assault and the ability to carry deadly weapons is increasing and from Tejas to IOC to Tejas, there has been a lot of change. While the Tejas Mark-1A is going to be even better.
Tejas laid the foundation for the future:
India is working on developing very modern next generation aircraft such as Tejas’ Mark-2 and AMCA (Advance Medium Combat Aircraft) in the future and the path to reach these aircraft passes through Tejas itself. HAL is moving towards developing world class technology and making them world class by continuously improving them.
If the F-16 or the Gripen is bought in large numbers, Tejas’s future could be in jeopardy due to having the same category of aircraft. In the past, such examples have also been seen in some countries like Israel where their own fighter jet projects could not progress due to dependence on foreign countries. In such a situation, structural development of fighter aircraft is being done in the country with Tejas.
However, it is not that the Air Force is adopting this aircraft only to promote HAL and Swadeshi, but Tejas aircraft are being built to cater to all its needs and the pilots who fly it have been saying that Tejas of its category Any fighter jet will be heavily involved in the fight.
How much truth in the Gripen and F-21 claims?
The companies that make them about the Gripen and the F-16 can say many things, but it becomes very important to keep the truth in mind and the truth is that Lockheed Martin Jis F-21 (upgrade version of F-16) and Saab Jis Speaking of Gripen-E, he is still on paper. In fact, the Gripen-E is a prototype and no one has actually seen the F-21, so it is too early to assess the capability of these aircraft ahead of time.
Are Gripen and F-16 really better?
The answer is that it cannot be said with certainty. First of all, comparison of these aircraft is largely meaningless as Tejas is light class aircraft but still it has many features that make it stand out from the other two aircraft.
Both aircraft have used more (about 70 per cent) carbon composite material to make Tejas, which makes it lighter, capable of acrobatics and tougher fighter jets for radar. Its 98 kg Newton Thrust engine is superior to the Gripen and is extremely easy to fly thanks to the indigenous Flywise wire system.
Tejas has flown thousands of flights so far and not crashed a single time while this is not the case with Gripen. The aircraft is more modern than both the Gripen and the F-16. The Gripen and the F-16 have matured over time and have improved things like weapon carrying and range but the speed at which Tejas is improving is likely to overtake both aircraft in the coming years. In other words, it can also be called the fighter jet of the future.
