The first batch of Rafale jets have took off from France and would be arriving to India on Wednesday. The first batch, which consists of five jets, will be inducted into the Indian Air Force’s fleet in Ambala, Haryana.
Covering a distance of 7000 km the aircraft would be flying from France to India, with air-to-air refueling, while making a stop at the UAE. These Rafale jets have been built by the French aviation firm Dassault and are the first batch out of the total 36 bought by the Indian government. The training on aircraft and weapons system has also been provided by the company to the Indian Air Force pilots.
The deal was signed in the year 2016 and has been much awaited by the Indian government. A total of 36 Rafale jets were purchased as a part of the deal and this inter-governmental deal costed Rs. 59,000 crore, as reported by NDTV.
The Indian embassy in France made a statement expressing the enthusiasm between both the countries. The statement announced the status of the deal currently and gave a timeline for it to be completed. “Delivery of ten aircrafts has been completed on schedule. Five will stay back in France for training Mission. The delivery of all 36 aircrafts would be completed on schedule by the end of 2021”, said the embassy, as reported by NDTV.
Bon Voyage: Indian Ambassador to #France interacts with the Indian pilots of the Rafale. Congratulates and wishes them a safe flight to India with a single hop. #ResurgentIndia #NewIndia #Rafale@IAF_MCC @MeaIndia @rajnathsingh @Dassault_OnAir @DefenceMinIndia @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/jk3IWD9tYU
— India in France (@IndiaembFrance) July 27, 2020
The Indian Ambassador, Jawed Ashraf, was in France today to spearhead the execution of the take off of the jets. “The five rafale jets are extremely swift, versatile and very deadly aircraft. They’re both beauty and beast”, he said in a statement. In his statement further, he also thanked Dassault, French government and French Air Force, for the great amount of support that they provided.
The Indian Embassy in France also shared a video of the aircraft on Twitter.
"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 (@IndiaembFrance) July 27, 2020
As per the original delivery schedule, four jets were to be delivered in the first batch. However, on a special request by the Indian Air Force to fast track the delivery, the French government increased the batch to five jets. The Indian Embassy in France has also assured that the delivery would be completed by the end of 2021.