New Delhi: The Indian Air Force said Thursday the last of the 36 IAF Rafale jets have landed in India after mid-air refuelling in the United Arab Emirates.
"FEET DRY! 'The Pack is Complete' The last of the 36 IAF Rafales landed in India after a quick enroute sip from a UAE Air Force tanker. Shukran jazeelan," a tweet on the IAF's Twitter account read.
According to information, 18 jets will be deployed at the Ambala air base situated north of the urban Ambala Cantonment area in Haryana, and the remaining will be deployed at Hasimara Air Force Station in North Bengal.
The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, 2020, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore. The second batch of three Rafale jets arrived in India on November 3 of that year.
The third batch of three more Rafale fighter jets arrived in India in January 2021.
The Rafale jets, manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are India’s first major acquisition of fighter planes after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.
The Rafale jets are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile, Scalp cruise missile, and MICA weapons system are the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.
The IAF also procured a new generation medium-range modular air-to-ground weapon system Hammer to integrate with the Rafale jets.
Hammer (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a precision-guided missile developed by French defence major Safran. The missile was originally designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy.
Meteor is the next generation of BVR air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat. The weapon has been developed by MBDA to combat common threats facing the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Sweden.
(With inputs from Neeraj Rajput)