Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said on Monday that while Pakistani jets were beaten back when they had entered Indian airspace on February 27, the favourable result could have been even more decisive had the Indian Air Force inducted Rafale jets in time.
Pakistani jets had crossed into Indian airspace. The PAF jets, however, failed to hit their intended targets, thanks to a quick response from IAF jets.
India had scrambled Mig-21 Bison and Mirage-2000 fighter jets against a PAF fighter contingent which also had F-16s. Dhanoa credited the success to the fact that both Mig-21 Bisons and the Mirage-2000 had been upgraded. He however said that Rafale could have made an even bigger impact in the dogfight.
India has purchased 36 Rafale jets from France’s Dassault Aviation.