Rajnath receives first Rafale from France, says IAF will get more teeth

Merignac (France), October 8 

The Rafale multi-role fighter jets will boost India's air dominance exponentially, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Tuesday as he formally took delivery of the first of the 36 long-awaited French-made aircraft acquired by the Indian Air Force at a ceremony here.

Singh attended the handover ceremony along with his French counterpart Florence Parly at aircraft maker Dassault Aviation facility in Merignac, southwestern France. The minister performed a shastra puja on the new aircraft as he emblazoned it with an 'Om' tilak and laid flowers and a coconut, just before he was to take off in it for a sortie in the newly-acquired two-seater jet.

Singh, who changed into combat flight gear for the sortie after Puja, said the aircraft will enhance the Indian Air Force combat capability massively — intended only for self-defence.

“We do not purchase arms and other defence equipments to threaten any country but to increase our capabilities and strengthen our defences,” 68-year-old Singh said. “I had never imagined that I would be flown at supersonic speed; a very comfortable and smooth flight during which I was able to observe the many capabilities of the jet, its air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities,” he said, describing his sortie as a memorable and once in a lifetime experience.

On September 19, Singh flew in the Tejas fighter aircraft from the HAL airport in Bengaluru, becoming the first defence minister to fly in the indigenously-built light combat aircraft.

“Our Air Force is the fourth-largest in the world and I believe that the Rafale Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft will make us even stronger and will give a boost to India's air dominance exponentially to ensure peace and security in the region,” Singh said, addressing the gathering here in Hindi.

"I have been told that the French word Rafale means andhi in Hindi or gust of wind. I am sure that the aircraft will live up to its name,” he said. — PTI