More firepower to IAF, 3 more Rafales to be added to fleet

The three Rafale combat aircraft, manufactured by French company Dassault Aviation, took off from Istres in France on Wednesday.

The Indian Embassy in France tweeted that three more Rafale jets have taken off from Istres for a non-stop flight to India with mid-air refuelling.

“Adding more strength to India’s air power. Wishing our amazing pilots a smooth flight and safe landing with superb fighter jets,” the Indian Embassy said.

With three more aircraft, the IAF will now have 11 Rafale jets in service. Further, Indian Air Force pilots are being trained in batches at the Saint-Dizier air base in France.

India received the first batch of five Rafale aircraft on July 29, 2020 which were inducted into the 17 ‘Golden Arrows’ Squadron on September 10 at the Ambala Air Base.

Second batch of three Rafale combat aircraft arrived in India on November 4, 2020 after flying non-stop from France.

India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 Rafale jets at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.

Rafale is a 4.5 generation aircraft and has the latest weapons, superior sensors and fully integrated architecture. It is an omni-role aircraft which means it can carry out at least four missions in one sortie.

The fighter jet has HAMMER missiles. It will also be armed with beyond visual range missiles like Meteor, SCALP and MICA, increasing its ability to take on incoming targets from a distance.