Pilots Likely to Fly Rafale Will Live in Modest Property in Noida

The Rafale deal has been concluded and those who own property in Noida may be the first civilians to witness the sight of these planes flying through the air since Noida is close to Air Force Station Hindon. Over time, of course, even the Rafale will become commonplace and will be seen routinely flying overhead in parts of the country either on training exercises or on Republic Day in front of thousands of people. Although the country has bought 36 Rafale fighter jets, they make a formidable addition to India’s capacity to attack targets deep behind enemy lines. Rafale is a very new jet fighter, much newer than any other fighter with the IAF, newer than even the Sukhoi 30 which was bought from Russia several years ago. Within fighter aircraft there is a classification along different generations of jets, for instance, planes which were manufactured in the 1960’s may be considered first generation jets and far newer fighter aircraft such as the American F-22 are routinely billed as sixth generation fighter jets. Sixth generation fighter jets often have certain stealth capability which makes them less visible to radars. As yet it is unclear whether the Rafale is an older fifth generation fighter or a newer sixth generation fighter, if it has certain capabilities which make it less visible to radar then it may very well be a sixth generation jet. Although the Rafale is a French plane, certain other fighter jets too were contenders for induction into the IAF among which was the European Eurofighter which was being promoted by Britain as the best jet for India’s air force.

Noida residents may soon find neighbors who fly the Rafale Jet as many such pilots are likely to invest in upcoming projects in Noida. Despite the fact that they fly a glamorous looking aircr.

aft, most pilots in the IAF don’t earn enough as yet to be able to afford luxury flats in Noida and thus often live in relatively modest homes. The recently announced results of the seventh pay commission will lead to a higher standard of living for many of the IAF’s pilots and the next development built for such pilots after retirement may indeed be glamorous, perhaps even more so than the Rafale. Real Estate developers in Noida are familiar with building societies for defense personal as they have done so more than a few times in the past, yet when such houses are compared to those of fighter pilots in Europe; undoubtedly the homes of European pilots are far superior to those of Indian pilots. Does this mean that European pilots are better than Indian pilots, better even than the elite pilots likely to fly the Rafale? It is possible this is so as European air forces spend a great deal more to train their pilots than the Indian air force does? Furthermore, as many fighter pilots in Europe have seen combat in regions such as Libya and more recently Syria they have faced real world combat unlike pilots in the IAF who last saw action over fifteen years ago during Kargil. This may mean European pilots are more ready for combat when compared to pilots of the IAF. Of course the training which IAF cadets undergo on joining the air force and the exercises undertaken while serving are world class, yet still, the Europeans and Americans grossly outspend the IAF when training fighter pilots. Thus those who pilot the Rafale are likely to invest in affordable apartments in Noida at an early age and while in mid-career may sell such a property to purchase a slightly more upmarket home and eventually if they are lucky and successful one day may own more exclusive residential property in Noida. Yet while in the midst of this home buying, they would be flying a jet which is far more expensive than any luxury car in existence in the world today.