First batch of 5 Rafale jets take off from France to India
x
A Rafale jet readies for the take off. Photo: Twitter/@Indian_Embassy

First batch of 5 Rafale jets take off from France to India


The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets took off from Merignac in France on Monday (July 27) and is slated to arrive in India on Wednesday (July 29).

The five aircraft will be the first to arrive of the 36 plans that India bought from France in 2016.

Jawed Ashraf, the Indian ambassador to France posted a picture of him seeing off the pilots of the Rafale jets on Monday and videos of the planes taxiing on the tarmac before the take off.

“Bon Voyage: Indian Ambassador to #France interacts with the Indian pilots of the Rafale. Congratulates and wishes them a safe flight to India with a single hop,” the Indian embassy in France tweeted.

 On their arrival, the jets will be formally inducted to the Indian Air Force’s fleet in Haryana’s Ambala, reports said.

Reports said 12 IAF pilots have been trained to fly the said aircrafts which will be a boost to India’s armory amid its standoff with China in eastern Ladakh

The aircraft will be refueled at the French airbase in the UAE on its way to India.

Read More
Next Story