On November 4, 2020, 2nd Batch of Three Rafale Fighter Jets landed at the Jamnagar Air Base in Gujarat. The fighter jets took off from Istres air base, France and flew continuously over eight hours covering 3, 700 nautical miles (6, 852 Kilometres) before landing in India.
The fighter air jets were accompanied by French Air Force’s mid-air refuelling aircraft.
Key Points:
i.With the arrival of the Three fighter jets, Indian Air Force (IAF) now has 8 Rafale Fighter jets.
ii.The Second batch will be stationed at Hasimara Air Force Station, West Bengal.
iii.IAF is expecting three to four Rafale jets to be delivered every two months. The induction of all 36 Rafale jets are expected to be completed by 2023.
First Batch of Rafale:
i.In July 29, The First five of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France landed in Ambala in Haryana after covering a distance of nearly 8500 Kms to join the Indian Air Force (IAF).
ii.They were officially inducted in September at Ambala Air Base in Haryana on September 10, 2020.
Rafale Fighter Jets:
i.In September, 2016 India and France signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 aircraft at a cost of INR 59, 000 crores.
ii.Rafale jets manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are India’s first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years.
iii.It carries a range of potent weapons such as MBDA’s (France based Weapons Manufacturing Company) Meteor Beyond visual range air-to-air missile, Scalp Cruise Missile.
iv.IAF is also procuring a new generation medium-range modular air-to-ground weapon system Hammer (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) to integrate with Rafale Jets.
Recent Related News:
i.September 25, 2020, Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh became the first woman fighter pilot of India to fly the Rafale combat aircraft that was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force(IAF) September 10, 2020.
ii.On September 10, 2020 The Five Rafale Aircrafts were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force at a function held at Air Force Station, Ambala (Haryana). They were inducted into the Indian Air Force’s 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’.
About Indian Air Force (IAF):
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) – Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
Headquarters – New Delhi
