Amid the current border conflict with China, the offensive capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will receive a boost, as 3-4 Rafale fighter jets would arrive at Ambala Air Base in Haryana by the first week of November.
This would be the second batch of these French-sourced fighter jets, as the first batch of five Rafales had arrived in India on July 28 and were officially admitted on September 10 by the Narendra Modi government.
“The second batch of 3-4 Rafale fighter jets would arrive in India in the first week of November from France and they are preparing for their arrival in the country,” government sources told ANI.
“With the induction of these aircraft, the IAF would have 8-9 fighter jets that will be operational in a few days in view of the current situation,” they said.
The Rafale fighters have already been put into operation and have also been deployed to the Ladakh conflict zone in the short time they have been with the Air Force.
An IAF team led by Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Projects), Vice Marshal N Tiwari in France, for reviewing the project as part of the annual routine meeting.
The Indian pilots are training there in France and by March 2021 the Indian team will likely complete the training phase there.
The IAF will deploy one squad of each of the Rafale fighter jets at its air bases at Ambala in Haryana and Hashimara in West Bengal.
In September 2016, India signed an agreement with the French government and Dassault Aviation to acquire 36 Rafale fighter jets for more than 7.8 billion euros to halt the decline of fighter squadrons and meet urgent requirements on the eastern and southern fronts. West.
The first five fighter jets were installed at Ambala in the presence of French Defense Minister Florence Parry and the Chief of the Defense Staff of India, Gen Bipin Rawat, together with IAF Chief RKS Bhadauria.
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