3 Rafale fighter jets to arrive in India today; mid-air refuelling in UAE
- The fresh induction will take the squadron's strength to 14
- India had ordered 36 Rafale fighter jets from France in September 2016
India will get three more Rafale fighter jets today. These fighter jets will fly directly from France and will be given mid-air refuelling by the UAE.
"Three Rafale fighters would be arriving in India in next two to three days directly flying from France with midair refuelling support by a friendly Air Force. Following that, we would be getting around 7-8 more of these fighters and their trainer version in the second half of next month. This would greatly boost our capability to carry out our missions," senior government sources told ANI.
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These planes are expected to land in Gujarat. The fresh induction will take the squadron's strength to 14.
Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India on Tuesday said that five extra Rafale jets will be ferried to India by the end of April. This would be other than three Rafale which is arriving on Wednesday.
The Ambassador said that It's a matter of great pride, "we've been able to deliver on schedule and even ahead of schedule" in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aircraft had started joining the Air Force fleet in the July-August timeframe last year and were quickly operationalised by the Air Force in the shortest possible time. The aircraft had also been deployed for patrolling along the China front in eastern Ladakh and other fronts during the height of the China confrontation.
After the planes were formally indicted in September, the second set of Rafale fighter jets reached India in November.
India had ordered 36 of these fighter aircraft from France in September 2016 and by April-end, more than 50 per cent of these fighters would have arrived in India.
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Rafale fighter jets
The twin-engine Rafale jets are capable of carrying out a variety of missions ' ground and sea attack, air defence and air superiority, reconnaissance, and nuclear strike deterrence. The planes equipped with the Hammer missiles have enhanced their capability to carry out air to ground strikes
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