Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, his French counterpart Florence Parly, Defense Chief of Staff General Bipin Rawat, and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria were among the dignitaries attending the ceremony.
A traditional ‘sarva dharma puja’, a ceremonial ‘water cannon salute’ to the Rafale jets, and an airshow featuring several impressive maneuvers by the aircraft marked his induction into the 17 Squadron of the IAF.
Live blog how it happened
This is how these Rafales are poised to give a huge boost to India’s air power capability.
* Once the Rafales, with their air-to-air ‘Meteor’ missiles (120-150 km attack range), air-to-surface cruise missiles ‘Scalp’ (more than 300 km) and other armaments, are in full force performance will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.
* Meteor missiles are arguably the best in the world for air combat duels, with “a greater no-escape zone” for hostile combatants than any comparable BVR weapon. Pakistan and China do not currently have any such missiles in their combat inventories.
* With a combat range of 780 km to 1,650 km depending on the mission, the Rafales come armed with a package of deadly weapons, advanced avionics, radars and electronic warfare systems to avoid interference from adversaries and ensure superior survival in the hostile contested airspace. Each Rafale can also carry two forget-and-fire Scalp cruise missiles to hit high-value fortified targets more than 300km away.
* They will be able to outgun and outrun the Pakistani F-16s and JF-17s, as well as the Chinese Chengdu J-20 fighters. France has so far delivered 10 Rafales to India, and the other five have been held at Merignac to train additional IAF pilots and technicians for the next nine months.
* “The induction of the Rafale aircraft could not have occurred at a more opportune moment considering the current security scenario. Rafale is based in Ambala, it is important since the fleet can quickly access all areas of interest from the air base” said IAF chief RKS Bhadauria, hinting at the ongoing standoff with China in LAC.
* But the 13 India Specific Enhancements (ISE) or upgrades on the 36 Rafales will go into full operation only in 2022 after undergoing “software certification” after all aircraft have arrived in India.
* Upgrades range from radar upgrades, Israeli helmet-mounted displays and low-band jammers to towed decoy systems, 10-hour flight data recording, and engine “cold start” capability from high altitude regions like Ladakh .
* The 36 Rafale, which can also launch nuclear weapons, are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2021. Ambala and Hashimara air bases will host 18 for each of the western and eastern fronts. The Rafales will add significantly to the qualitative and quantitative advantage the IAF already enjoys over the Chinese air force along the 3,488 km Royal Line of Control.
* The IAF has also projected the operational need to enter another 36 Rafales in the context of their shrinking number of combat squadrons, as well as for Hasimara and Ambala to have the necessary infrastructure to host two squadrons each. But that decision has yet to be made.
In video: IAF formally incorporates Rafale into its fleet at Ambala air base
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