Highlights:
- IAF’s Rafale Fighter Jets takes off from France and will reach India on July 29
- 7 Indian pilots are flying the aircraft and will halt in UAE
- 5 Rafale fighter aircraft have taken off from an airbase in France
5 Rafale Fighter aircraft have taken off from an airbase in France today and will join the Indian Air Force fleet on the July 29th in Ambala.
The fighter jets were flagged off by the Indian Ambassador in France from an airbase situated in Merignac, France where the Ambassador interacted with the Indian crew tasked with flying the jets back to India. The Indian Embassy in France shared short videos of IAF’s Rafale taking off from the airbase in France and tweeted, “Rafale aircrafts maneuvered by the world’s best pilots, soar into the sky. Emblematic of new heights in India-France defence collaboration,”.
Rafale aircrafts maneuvered by the world’s best pilots, soar into the sky. Emblematic of new heights in India-France defence collaboration #ResurgentIndia #NewIndia@IAF_MCC @MeaIndia @rajnathsingh @Dassault_OnAir @DefenceMinIndia @PMOIndia@JawedAshraf5 @DDNewslive @ANI pic.twitter.com/FrEQYROWSv
— India in France (@Indian_Embassy) July 27, 2020
In another Tweet, the Indian Embassy in France said, “The new Rafales add strategic depth and strength to India’s air combat capabilities. They fly out of France today to join the growing Indian fleet of aircrafts.”
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The new Rafales add strategic depth and strength to India’s air combat capabilities. They fly out of France today to join the growing Indian fleet of aircrafts. #ResurgentIndia #NewIndia@MEAIndia @FranceinIndia @IAF_MCC @Dassault_OnAir @DrSJaishankar @PMOIndia @DDNewslive @ANI pic.twitter.com/FU5n1po83y
— India in France (@Indian_Embassy) July 27, 2020
The Indian Embassy in France also said, “Beauty and the Beast”- #Rafale Fighter Aircraft. Ready to take off” via a tweet.
"Beauty and the Beast"- #Rafale Fighter Aircraft. Ready to take off @MEAIndia @JawedAshraf5 @gouvernementFR @Dassault_OnAir @rajnathsingh @DefenceMinIndia @DDNewslive @ANI @DrSJaishankar @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/TTAi6DHun7
— India in France (@Indian_Embassy) July 27, 2020
The 5 Rafale Fighter Jets flying to India includes 7 Indian pilots once of whom is the Commanding Officer of the 17 Golden Arrows squadron. All the pilots have received training on the Rafale Fighter Jets by the French Dassault Aviation company following the agreement which was signed for the biggest ever defence deal made by India back in 2016 for acquiring 36 Rafale Jets for a whopping Rs. 60,000 crore deal amount.
The 5 Rafale fighting aircraft will make their halt at a French Base in UAE (United Arab Emirates) on their way to India and would be refuelled by the French Air Force tanker aircraft near Greece or Israel over the sea before landing in UAE.
After the halt at UAE, the fighter jets will proceed towards Ambala and are expected to reach on July 29th.
Reports suggest that “The trainers will have the tail numbers of the RB series in honour of the Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria who played a pivotal role in finalising India’s largest-ever defence deal for 36 Rafale combat aircraft.”
It added that the “Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria was the Deputy Chief of Air Staff at that time and headed the Indian negotiation team for the deal which is the biggest ever in monetary terms in India.”
