The first batch of five French-made Rafale fighter jets arrived at an Indian Air Force (IAF) base, Indian officials said, as the country seeks to modernize its armed forces amid security challenges with Pakistan and China.
The planes landed Wednesday at Ambala Air Base in the northern state of Haryana.
Police and soldiers closed the roads leading to the base, banned photography and placed restrictions on the gatherings of more than four people, said police officer Abhishek Jorwal.
“The birds have safely landed in Ambala,” Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted. “If anyone should worry or criticize this new capacity … it should be those who want to threaten our territorial integrity.”
The planes, built by Dassault Aviation, were piloted by IAF officers as they took off from Merignac in southwestern France on Monday.
The fighter jets are part of a $ 9.4 billion deal signed with France in 2016. They are to be formally incorporated into the IAF in mid-August.
The multimillion-dollar deal has been overshadowed by corruption allegations made by the opposition Congress party, although Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rejected the allegations.
A photo of the brochure released Monday by Dassault Aviation shows the Rafale plane taking off from Merignac Air Base in southern France. [AFP]
The largest arms importer in the world
India has become the world’s largest arms importer as it modernizes its armed forces. On July 2, the Indian Defense Ministry approved the purchase of 21 Russian MiG-29 fighter jets and 12 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets that cost $ 2.43 billion to replace obsolete Soviet-era weapons. .
Defense deals come amid intense tensions along the disputed Chinese border in Ladakh, where New Delhi dispatched fighter jet reinforcements and military equipment after hand-to-hand combat between Indian and Chinese soldiers on June 15 that left 20 Indians dead.
Indian and Chinese military officials and diplomats have held several rounds of talks aimed at reaching a solution, but the confrontation has continued.
Indian troops regularly clash with Pakistani soldiers along their de facto border in disputed Kashmir, which is also claimed by Pakistan.
In 2016, five attackers and three Indian troops died in more than 14 hours of combat in an attack on an Indian air force base in Pathankot, in the neighboring state of Punjab.
India blamed Pakistani fighters for the attack. Pakistan condemned the attack and called it a “terrorist” incident.
India’s ties to neighboring Pakistan reached their lowest point since last August, when India revoked statehood and semi-autonomy from the part of Kashmir it controls.
India and Pakistan have waged two wars for control of the Himalaya region since Britain gave them independence from colonial rule in 1947.
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