3 new Rafale combat jets land on Indian soil

Wednesday night saw three new Rafale fighter jets land in India all the way from France in a non-stop flight. The fighter jets were provided with mid-air refuelling by MRTT tankers of United Arab Emirates’ air force, according to the Indian Air Force; highlighting the military relationship between the two countries.

The three jets are the fourth batch of Rafales which have been delivered to the Indian Air force by the French, while the landing base of the new jet remains undisclosed. They are an addition on to the 11 Rafale aircrafts already received and inducted in the Air Force.

The Indian embassy of France tweeted, "Another batch of #Rafale take to the skies on non stop flight to India with mid air refueling by UAE. Indian Air power grows further!"

The twitter handle of the IAF said, “The 4th batch of three IAF #Rafales landed on Indian soil after a direct ferry from #IstresAirBase France."

India is set to receive another batch of Rafales in the month of April and receive subsequent jets in the next coming months.

Dassault Aviation, a French aircraft manufacturer is contracted by the Indian government to deliver 36 Rafale jets for Rs 59,000 crore. In July of last year India received its first five Rafales, while a second batch of three Rafales touched down in November last year and the third batch comprising of another three of the Rafale jets arrive in January of this year. The new batch has taken the total to 14 Rafael jets ramping up the firepower of the Indian Air Force.

According to officials in the military, the Hasimara air base of West Bengal will serve as the base for setting up the second squadron of the Rafael fighter jets around the middle of April. While the first squadron of Rafael fighter jets is based in the Ambala air force station.