Ahead of Air Force Day, IAF displays Rafale's Scalp stealth cruise missile

Ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, the Indian Air Force(IAF) released images of Rafale fighter jets carrying the Scalp stealth cruise missile.

In a tweet, the IAF said: "When you know how to be smart and pretty - ways of the world."

The Scalp air-launched missile is used to hit high-value targets namely radars, airbases, ports and communication facilities.

The missile can engage in night and day conditions with long-range and low altitude flying capabilities.

India had ordered 36 Rafale jets from France in September 2016. The jets began arriving last year. The high tech fighters are India's first major acquisition of fighters after the Sukhoi jets which was imported from Russia.

Rafale fighter jets are capable of carrying range weapons with air-to-air missiles and Scalp cruise missiles being its mainstay.

Meteor is a next-generation beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat. The weapon has been developed by MBDA to combat common threats faced by Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden.

The Rafale combat aircraft can reach maximum speeds of 750 knots with a service ceiling of 50,000 feet. The super jets can also carry out air-to-ground strikes including air-to-air attacks and can fire air-to-air missiles during a very low altitude penetration phase.

(With inputs from Agencies)