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- Published: July 28, 2020 22:11
New Delhi: The first batch of 5 Rafale fighter jets, on their way to India, were re-fuelled mid-air from a French Air Force tanker, and the breath taking pictures taken at 30,000 feet were posted by the Indian embassy in France Twitter.
“Indian Air Force appreciates the support provided by French Air Force for our Rafale journey back home,” tweeted Indian Air Force.
Indian Air Force appreciates the support provided by French Air Force for our Rafale journey back home. @Armee_de_lair @Indian_Embassy @Dassault_OnAir #Rafale#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/7Ec8oqOJmr
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 28, 2020
Earlier, all the five Rafale aircraft landed safely at the Al Dhafra airbase in UAE on Monday after a sortie in excess of seven hours, the IAF had said. In a long-awaited development, 5 Rafale fighter aircraft took off on Monday for India from an airbase in France to join the IAF fleet in Ambala on Wednesday.
The fighter aircraft were flagged off by the Indian Ambassador to France from an airbase in Merignac, France where he interacted with the India crew flying it to India. The five aircraft flying to India include seven Indian pilots with the commanding officer of the 17 Golden Arrows squadron.
The first 5 #IAF #Rafales have taken off from Dassault Aviation Facility, Merignac, #France today morning. These 5 include 3 single-seater and 2 twin-seater aircraft. The ferry is planned in two stages & is being undertaken by IAF pilots. 1/2#RafaleJet pic.twitter.com/0TWU5zlgvQ
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 27, 2020
Indian pilots flying the fighter jet to Ambala
All the pilots have been trained on the aircraft by the French Dassault Aviation company as per the agreement signed for the biggest-ever defence deal signed by India in 2016 for acquiring 36 Rafale jets for over Rs 60,000 crore.
After a stopover post refuelling, these aircraft will then proceed towards Ambala and reach by July 29 morning. The delivery of the aircraft was earlier supposed to have been done by May-end but this was postponed by two months in view of the COVID-19 situation in both India and France.
IAF chief to receive Rafales in Ambala on July 29
Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria would be receiving the batch of first five Rafale combat aircraft arriving from France, reports said.
“The Air Force Chief would be in Ambala tomorrow to receive the fighter planes which are being inducted as part of India’s biggest defence deal worth Rs 60,000 crores in 2016,” IAF sources said here.
The Rafales are expected to reach Ambala by 2 pm.
The weather and other conditions are at the moment looking good and it is expected to reach the Ambala air base on time, reports said.