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Updated October 13th, 2021 at 21:34 IST

India to receive three more Rafale fighter jets from France; to land in Gujarat's Jamnagar

Three more Rafale jets will reach the Indian state of Gujarat on Wednesday from France. The jets arriving from France will be landing in Gujarat's Jamnagar.

Reported by: Apoorva Kaul
Rafale
Image: PTI | Image:self
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Further enhancing the strength of Indian Air Force, three more Rafale jets will reach the Indian state of Gujarat on Wednesday, October 13 from France. The three new fighter jets that will be landing in Gujarat's Jamnagar would make the number of Rafale jets in India to 29 that were ordered from France, according to ANI.

 India and France had signed a Rupees 60,000 crore deal in 2016, under which France had to supply 36 Rafale jets to India. 

Rafale fighters to arrive in India

Three Rafale jets, scheduled to reach India on Wednesday were re-fuelled mid-air over the Middle East by the Air Force. The government sources have informed ANI that the Rafale jets arriving from France will be landing at Gujarat's Jamnagar airbase. After Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari took over as the Chief of Air Staff, this will be the first batch of Rafales that will be arriving from France. 

According to ANI, the next three Rafales will reach India in the first half of December while the next three will arrive in India by January 26, 2022. The 36th Rafale that will be delivered to India will be equipped with further enhancements, making it more 'lethal'. According to ANI, the Rafale aircrafts arriving in India will be distributed between the Golden Arrows squadron in Ambala and the 101 squadron in Hashimara, West Bengal. 

India-France deal over Rafale jets

India had signed a deal with the French government and Dassault in September, 2016, according to ANI. With the inked deal, the Indian Air Force would acquire 36 Rafale aircraft from France. The Rafale jets started joining the IAF in the July-August time frame last year and were quickly operationalised by the Air Force. The Rafale has been equipped with the Hammer missiles that boosts its ability to carry out air-to-ground strikes like the one that happened in Balakot. The first set of Rafale aircraft had started joining the IAF in July last year. The second set of Rafale jets arrived in India in November 2020 and the third set of Rafale jets arrived in India on March 31, 2021. The fourth batch and fifth batch of Rafale aircraft landed in India in April, 2021. The sixth batch of three Rafale fighter jets had arrived in India in May 2021.

Inputs from ANI

Image: PTI

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Published October 13th, 2021 at 21:34 IST

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