India plans to buy a large number of Meteor air-to-air missiles to strengthen the arsenal of its Rafale fighters. The deal will cost 1,500 crore rupees, roughly $180 million.
The Economic Times, citing its own sources, reports this and adds that the country also plans to purchase 700 domestic Astra MK-2 missiles, which are analogues to the European missiles and will be integrated on Su-30s and Tejas.
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It is noted that currently the Meteor, with a range of over 200 km, can be used only by French Rafales. However, it is worth remembering that plans have previously been reported to integrate it on russian Su-30s.
India ordered its first batch of long-range European air-to-air missiles back in 2016 during the initial purchase of combat aircraft from France. Additional missiles were later bought together with the naval Rafale M.
India's Meteors saw combat use during the brief clash with Pakistan, which massively employed Chinese PL-15s with ranges of 200–300 km. Due to the lack of reliable data, it is impossible to fully assess the effectiveness of these weapons, but some interesting conclusions follow.
Long-range aviation weapons are today critical for the effective use of combat aircraft. This lesson also comes from the russo-Ukrainian war, where both sides use standoff guided bombs to strike targets beyond the reach of enemy air defenses and air-to-air missiles.
So India has seriously learned this lesson and is now actively increasing its relevant arsenal. Of course, fulfilling both foreign and domestic contracts will take time, but that is true for any defense procurement.
This is also an important reminder for Ukraine that long-range air-to-air missiles are a necessity. Thus, with the potential arrival of Gripen, which can use Meteor, it is worth working to obtain such weapons.
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