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Rafale fighter jets can carry out long-range missions.
The Indian air force received five new Rafale fighter jets amid continuing border tensions with China.
The plane is part of India’s 2016 agreement with France to buy 36 fighter jets.
Delhi hopes to modernize its growing Soviet-era air force fleet with the induction of Rafale multipurpose aircraft.
But experts warn that these planes cannot be used immediately in the event of conflict.
(Retired) Air Marshal Pranab Kumar Barbora, who oversaw the induction of the Jaguar fleet, told the BBC that the arrival of the Rafale was a welcome move because “it will significantly improve the capacity of the air force.”
“But it will be a while before these planes are fully operational. A logistics chain needs to be established, technical and ground personnel in India trained,” he said.
He added that it generally takes up to two years before a new squad is fully functional. The Rafale squad will be fully operational when it has at least 18 aircraft.
Delivery of the remaining Rafale aircraft is expected to be completed next year.
The planes, made by the French firm Dassault Aviation, took off from France on Monday and landed in the UAE for an overnight stop. The trip showed the endurance of the plane and the ability to fuel in the air.
The Rafale is a multi-functional aircraft, capable of carrying out long-range missions, including high-precision land and sea attacks.
Analysts say the arrival of the planes will boost morale for the air force, which has been facing a shortage of fighter jets.
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Rafale aircraft will power India’s air force fleet
India needs 42 squads on the scene of a two-front war with China and Pakistan. But its squad strength has been reduced to 31, largely due to the aging of Russian aircraft.
The purchase of new combat aircraft has been in process for years. The government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began the process in 2000, and its successor, an administration led by the Congress Party, continued it and issued tenders in 2008 to buy 126 aircraft.
Dassault was finalized as a supplier in 2012, and the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was selected as a partner to produce 108 aircraft in India.
The deal – from start to finish
- 2001: India decides to buy 126 combat aircraft to strengthen its air force
- 2007: the offers are published
- 2008: Companies such as Boeing from the United States, United Aircraft Corporation from Russia, Saab from Sweden and Dassault from France submitted offers
- 2012: Dassault, which submitted the lowest offer, is shortlisted
- 2014: Deal is put on hold as BJP’s Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister
- 2015: during his visit to France, Modi announces India’s decision to buy 36 “ready-to-fly” Rafale aircraft
- 2016: an agreement is closed to buy the 36 aircraft
But the deal stalled when the two partners were unable to agree on terms and conditions.
When the BJP returned to power with Modi in 2014, he made purchasing the planes a priority. But instead of going ahead with the deal, he surprised many by ordering 36 planes as part of a new deal in which HAL was not included.
The Indian government says it decided to buy the 36 planes in “flight” condition to quickly address the problem of the air force’s depletion force.
But it is not clear where India will acquire the remaining aircraft it needs in the long term. The air force announced in 2018 that it would seek offers for an additional 110 fighter jets, but the deal has yet to be finalized.
