You all know that in terms of combat there are many roles that a soldier has to play whether it is attacking, defending, gathering information or many more. Just like them, aircrafts or planes also need to play multiple roles in the war or any situation. To do such roles the Indian Air Force has multirole fighter jets that play various roles in the situation of war.
What are Multirole fighter jets ?
A multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) or Multirole fighter jets, is a combat aircraft intended to perform different roles in combat. These role include air to air combat, air support, aerial bombing, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and suppression of air defenses.
Here’s the list of Multirole fighter jets of the Indian Air Force :-
| Name | Quantity | Origin |
| Dassault Rafale | 36 | France |
| Sukhoi Su-30 MKI | 272 | Russia |
| HAL Tejas | 32 | India |
| MiG-29 | 65 | Russia |
| Mirage 2000 | 51 | France |
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale is a French multirole fighter aircraft. It is a twin-engine, canard delta wing aircraft that Dassault Aviation has designed and built. It is equipped with a wide range of weapons. The Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions. The Rafale is referred to as an “omnirole” aircraft.
It is now in The Indian Air Force. This fighter jet is going to make a significant change in the Air Force as it is a powerful war aircraft ready to eradicate the enemies of our country. The Indian Rafale is a 4.5 generation aircraft.
Sukhoi Su-30 MKI
The Sukhoi Su-30 is a multi-role fighter aircraft for all-weather, air-to-air and air interdiction missions. It is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable aircraft. They were developed in the Soviet Union by Russia’s Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. India has 260 fighter aircraft as of 2020.
On 26 February 2019, India launched an airstrike in Pakistan airspace on Jaish-e-Mohammad camp under Balakot Air Strike. In this airstrike mission Four Sukhoi aircrafts escorted Mirage 2000s into Pakistan airspace.
HAL Tejas
The HAL Tejas is a multirole fighter jet. It is an Indian, single engine, delta wing, light which is designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in collaboration with Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.
There are 123 aircraft to be built for the Indian Air Force out of which 26 were inducted in February 2022.
MiG-29
The MiG-29s have been furnished as multirole fighters capable of performing a number of different operations, and are commonly outfitted to use a range of air-to-surface armaments and precision munitions. It is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau.
The Indian Air Force has 65 MiG-29 in its aircraft arsenal.
Mirage 2000
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole fighter jet. It is a single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation.
During Operation Safed Sagar from May to July 1999, the two Mirage squadrons flew a total of 514 sorties with only three drop outs during which it dropped 55,000 kg of artillery on our enemies.
During the 2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff, IAF Mirage 2000s were used to destroy Pakistani bunkers with precision-guided bombs
On 26 February 2019, 12 Mirage 2000s were used to strike a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot, Pakistan
References from :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_Indian_military_aircraft
