With aim to boost air power, third batch of 3 Rafale fighter jets to reach India in Jan

The third batch of three Rafale fighter aircraft will fly to India in the month of January. After the third batch reaches India, the total strength of Rafale fighter aircrafts in India will rise to 11. After the first batch of five Rafale Jets that reached India on July 29 and were formally inducted into IAF on September 10 this year, the Indian Air Force got an extraordinary push with enhanced fighter power. The second batch of three more Rafale air jets joined the Indian Air Force’s solitary Rafale squadron in November when they flew non-stop from France to Jamnagar to finally reach Ambala.

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The third batch of three more Rafale fighter aircrafts will add more strength to the IAF. The exact dates of the next three Rafales are being worked upon, sources said. The three Rafales coming to India will fly non-stop from France to Jamnagar with mid-air refuelling Support by France and IAF. Once the combat crafts reach Jamnagar, they will be formally inducted into the Golden Arrow Squadron in Ambala.

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India orders 36 French-origin warplanes for IAF

India has ordered 36 French-origin warplanes for Indian Air Force that will constitute two squadrons. The first squadron in Ambala is already up with 8 Rafales and next batch will take the strength to 11. The jets were ordered from France in September 2016 under a government-to-government deal. The arrival of more fighters will further boost the IAF’s capability to rapidly deploy the advanced jets in the Ladakh region amid a stand-off with China.

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The IAF has been operating the fighter jets - equipped with advanced weapons and sensors - in Ladakh where the military is on high alert to deal with any provocation by China amid a lingering border dispute. The IAF will induct three to four jets every two months, with all the 36 planes likely to join its combat fleet by the year-end. After the first squadron gets full strength, the second Rafale squadron will be raised at Hasimara in West Bengal to strengthen the IAF’s capabilities in the eastern sector.

The twin-engine Rafale jets are capable of carrying out a variety of missions – ground and sea attack, air defence and air superiority, reconnaissance and nuclear strike deterrence. The fighters can carry almost 10 tonnes of weapons.

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