Looks like the Modi government’s ‘Make In India’ initiative is inspiring ordinary Indians to do ‘extraordinary’ things. Meet Rampal Behaniwal, a man from the northern Indian state of Punjab, who claims to have developed ‘Punjab Rafale’ based on the 4.5-generation French Rafale fighter jet.
The only irony is that ‘Punjab Rafale’ moves at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour whereas the French jet boasts a top speed of nearly 1,400 km per hour.
India has purchased 36 Omnirole Rafale combat aircraft from France. The country is expected to receive the entire fleet of 36 fighter jets by April 2022, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said last month.
According to news agency ANI, Rampal Behaniwal is an architect. He has designed the vehicle called, ‘Punjab Rafale’. Behaniwal said he was so inspired by the French aircraft that he finally decided to make a vehicle based on it.
The slow-moving vehicle was manufactured in the Rama Mandi region of Punjab’s Bhatinda city.
The vehicle is painted light blue, similar to the color of the Indian Air Force, with the tagline, ‘Ram Pal Airline’, inscribed on its ‘bonnet’. Unlike fighter jets, the vehicle does not come with a canopy, thereby being roofless.
According to Behaniwal, the manufacturing cost of the ‘Punjab Rafale’ is around Rs 3 lakh.
ANI tweeted that the vehicle will soon find a place at a cultural park for people who may not have seen the actual Rafale fighters.
“The architect of the vehicle, Rampal Behaniwal, said that the vehicle will be displayed soon at a cultural park. For people who can’t afford flying so that they fulfill their dream here in some ways,” the tweet read.
Punjab: Architect designs jet-shaped vehicle that runs at 15-20km/h speed in Bathinda's Rama Mandi. pic.twitter.com/NBLWCLA8RJ
— ANI (@ANI) March 4, 2021
This (vehicle) cost me about Rs 3 lakhs & will be displayed in my (soon to be launched) cultural park for people who can't afford flying so that they fulfill their dream here in some ways. Its name 'Punjab Rafale' is inspired from Rafale (jets): Rampal Behaniwal, Architect pic.twitter.com/jgWs5P5sIB
— ANI (@ANI) March 4, 2021
The 4+ generation Rafale is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft equipped with a wide range of weapons.
The fighter boasts the ability to perform an array of missions including air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike, and nuclear deterrence.
The first batch of five Rafale fighters arrived in India on July 29, last year, after a stopover at the Al Dhafra airbase near Abu Dhabi.
The fighters were then inducted into the IAF following a formal induction ceremony which took place in September 2020.
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