After the entry of the Rafale fighter jets into the Indian Air Force on Thursday, the former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was delighted and said that ‘the best fighter plane in the world has the greatest fighter pilots in the world.’
The Rafale fighter jets formal induction ceremony took place at the Ambala Air Force Station on September 10
with the attendance of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and France’s Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly.
General Bipin Rawat, chief of defense staff (CDS), and Air Force chief air chief RKS Bhadauria also attended
the gathering.
Taking to Twitter, MS Dhoni pointed out that the lethality of the aircraft would increase exponentially in the hands of the Indian pilots alongside the mix of aircraft at the IAF’s disposal. Further, MS Dhoni wished the Glorious 17 Squadron (Golden Arrows) luck and hoped that the Rafale would beat the service records of the Mirage 2000. However, MS Dhoni revealed that the Su30MKI was his favorite and that ‘the boys had found a new target to dogfight with’ and wait for BVR engagement till their upgrade to Super Sukhoi.
MS Dhoni hails Rafale induction
With the Final Induction Ceremony the world’s best combat proven 4.5Gen fighter plane gets the world’s best fighter pilots. In the hands of our pilots and the mix of different aircrafts with the IAF the potent bird’s lethality will only increase.
— Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) September 10, 2020
Wishing The Glorious 17 Squadron(Golden Arrows) all the very best and for all of us hope the Rafale beats the service record of the Mirage 2000 but Su30MKI remains my fav and the boys get new target to dogfight with and wait for BVR engagement till their upgrade to Super Sukhoi
— Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) September 10, 2020
The five Rafale jets, three single-seat, and two twin-seater trainers landed at the Ambala airbase on July 29 nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore. The formal induction ceremony of the Rafale fighter jets began with a traditional ‘Sarva Dharm puja’ at the Ambala Air Force Station on Thursday morning.
