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The Rafale jets have been refulled mid-air from a French tanker at a peak of 30,000 ft
New Delhi:
Chief of Air Staff RKS Bhadauria will obtain 5 Rafale fighter jets at Ambala on Wednesday afternoon when the fleet arrives on the strategically key airbase, officers mentioned.
The Rafale jets are India’s first main acquisition of fighter planes in over twenty years, and they’re anticipated to considerably enhance the Indian Air Force’s fight capabilities.
India had inked a Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016 to obtain 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace main Dassault Aviation.
Six Rafale coach plane will carry RB collection tail numbers which stand for Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, who performed a key position as lead negotiator for the mega deal.
The first batch of 5 jets took off from the Merignac airbase in French port metropolis of Bordeaux on Monday, and might be arriving in Ambala on Wednesday afternoon after masking a distance of practically 7,000 km.
The fleet, comprising three single seater and two twin seater plane, might be inducted into the IAF as a part of its No 17 Squadron, also called the ”Golden Arrows” on Wednesday afternoon, they mentioned.
However, a proper induction ceremony might be held round mid-August which is anticipated to be attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and high navy brass of the nation.
The fleet landed at Al Dhafra airbase within the UAE after flying for over seven hours. It was the one stopover by the jets whereas flying from France to India.
The jets have been additionally refulled mid-air from a French tanker at a peak of 30,000 ft, based on the Indian Embassy in France.
The first Rafale jet was handed over to the IAF in October final 12 months throughout a go to to France by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
While the primary squadron of the Rafale jets might be stationed at Ambala airbase, the second will based mostly at Hasimara base in West Bengal.
The Ambala base is taken into account some of the strategically positioned bases of the IAF because the Indo-Pak border is round 220 km from it.
Currently, the bottom has two squadrons of the Jaguar fight plane and one squadron of the MiG-21 Bison.
Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh was the primary commander of the Ambala base in unbiased India.
The IAF spent round Rs 400 crore to develop required infrastructure like shelters, hangars and upkeep amenities on the two bases
Out of 36 Rafale jets, 30 might be fighter jets and 6 might be trainers. The coach jets might be twin-seater and they’ll have nearly all of the options of the fighter jets.
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