Three more Rafales from France land at Ambala

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 27

Three more newly-procured Rafale fighter jets that took off from France for India today touched down at Ambala late Wednesday evening.

With their arrival, the number of Rafales in IAF inventory has gone up to 11.

The aircraft covered a distance of about 8,O00 km from Istres in France to the home base of their unit, No.17 Squadron, operating out of the country’s oldest airbase. UAE mid air refueling aircraft provided enroute support.

The first batch of five Rafales had arrived in India from France on July 29, 2020, after making an overnight halt in UAE. They were formally inducted into the IAF in September. The next batch of three aircraft had arrived in November after flying non-stop from France in about eight hours.

Since their induction, the Rafales have been fully operational and are undertaking various missions, including flying in Ladakh, where Indian and Chinese armies have been engaged in a close confrontation along the Line of Actual Control for the past about 10 months.

The IAF is procuring a total of 36 Rafale multi-role aircraft, equipping two squadrons, with the second one to be based in the east. Recently, the IAF said Rafale could be a contender for the IAF’s planned acquisition of 114 fighter aircraft.