Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 15: The Indian Air Force said that the last of the 36 Indian Air Force (IAF) Rafale fighter jets from France landed in India on Thursday, 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,” the IAF tweeted.
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. @modgovae pic.twitter.com/5rkMikXQeS
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) December 15, 2022
India has signed a deal for 36 Rafale planes and 35 of those had been already delivered from France. They are placed at Ambala, Haryana and Hasimara in West Bengal. The 36th aircraft was provided to the Indian facet by France with all its spares and different elements changed because it was being used for developmental activities.
The first five batches of Rafale jets arrived at Ambala Air Force Base on July 29, 2020, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 aircraft for Rs 59,000 crore.
The second batch of three Rafale jets arrived in India on November 3, 2020. The IAF has also started upgrading the aircraft to the highest standards and equipped them with all the India-specific enhancements.
The Rafale is a 4.5 generation aircraft with long vary range air to air and air to ground missiles along side advanced measuring device and military action capabilities.