Consider the following statements: 1. Mirage 2000 is a twin-engine fighter jet. 2. HAL Tejas is a delta-winged fighter jet. 3. Rafale is a hypersonic fighter jet. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a)1 and 2
- (b)2 only
- (c)1 and 3
- (d)3 only
Correct — B, 2 only. Statement 2 is right: the HAL Tejas is a tailless compound delta — one continuous delta wing with no separate tailplane, which keeps the airframe small and light. Statement 1 fails on the engine count, since the Mirage 2000 is a single-engine aircraft powered by one SNECMA M53; it is delta-winged, which is what makes the option tempting. Statement 3 fails on speed: the Rafale is a twin-engine supersonic fighter with a top speed near Mach 1.8, and hypersonic means above Mach 5, a threshold no crewed fighter reaches.
- (a)1 and 2 — Correct on the Tejas, wrong on the Mirage 2000, which flies on a single engine.
- (c)1 and 3 — Both halves are wrong — the engine count for the Mirage and the speed class for the Rafale.
- (d)3 only — Calls the Rafale hypersonic, which no fighter in service anywhere is, and discards the one true statement.
Three descriptors decide most aircraft questions: how many engines, what wing shape, and what speed class. A delta wing gives a large wing area with a strong structure and suits high speed and high angle of attack, at the cost of drag in slow flight. Speed classes run subsonic below Mach 1, supersonic from Mach 1 to about Mach 5, and hypersonic above that.
The item is built out of near-misses. Both the Mirage 2000 and the Tejas are single-engine deltas, so a candidate who remembers only 'delta' can be pushed into accepting statement 1. Rafale is the twin-engine one in this list. As of the 2022 exam the Air Force had taken delivery of all 36 Rafales contracted in 2016, the last arriving in December 2022, while the Tejas Mk1A order of 83 aircraft placed in 2021 was in production.
- The Mirage 2000 is single-engine and delta-winged, powered by one SNECMA M53.
- The HAL Tejas is a single-engine tailless compound delta, the smallest and lightest fighter in its class.
- The Rafale is twin-engine, powered by two Snecma M88, with a top speed of about Mach 1.8.
- Hypersonic means above Mach 5; supersonic covers Mach 1 to Mach 5.
- India signed for 36 Rafales in 2016, and the Tejas Mk1A order of 83 aircraft was placed in 2021.
- Reading 'delta wing' as implying two engines.
- Using 'hypersonic' loosely for anything fast.
Three statements on aircraft specifications, or a straight single-line item on which aircraft is indigenous.
Rustom-2, which crashed in Karnataka recently, was a/an
- (a) fighter aircraft
- (b) helicopter
- (c) transport aircraft
- (d) unmanned aerial vehicle
Answer(d) unmanned aerial vehicle
The same habit of classifying a flying machine correctly — CDS asked what Rustom-2 actually is, and the answer is a class of aircraft that carries no pilot at all.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Hypersonic speed begins at approximately
- (a)Mach 1
- (b)Mach 2
- (c)Mach 5
- (d)Mach 10
Answer(c) Mach 5 — below that, and above Mach 1, the flight is supersonic.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following fighter aircraft is twin-engined?
- (a)Mirage 2000
- (b)HAL Tejas
- (c)Rafale
- (d)F-16
Answer(c) Rafale — it flies on two Snecma M88 engines; the other three are single-engine designs.