Rafale jets touch down amid fanfare in Ambala
GAME CHANGER Rajnath welcomes fighter planes, warns those threatening India’s integrity
NEW DELHI: Ending the Indian Air Force’s wait for new fighter jets to sharpen its combat potential, five Rafales of the 36 ordered by the IAF landed at the Ambala airbase on Wednesday, with their pilots arriving home to a heroes’ welcome after completing a two-leg flight covering 8,500km from France with a stopover at the Al Dhafra airbase near Abu Dhabi.
The jets have come at a time when India and China are locked in border tensions in Ladakh.
Shortly after they landed, defence minister Rajnath Singh said the new fighters would enhance the IAF’S capabilities and deter any threat to the country. He also said those who want to threaten India’s territorial integrity should be worried about the new capability.
“This aircraft has very good flying performance and its weapons, radar and other sensors and electronic warfare capabilities are amongst the best in the world. Its arrival in India will make the IAF much stronger to deter any threat that may be posed to our country,” Singh said in series of tweets on the Rafale jets.
The Rafales will significantly enhance the offensive capabilities of the air force and prove to be a game changer with their advanced weaponry, high-tech sensors, superior radar for detection and tracking of targets and ability to carry an impressive payload, experts previously told Hindustan Times.
The arrival of the Rafales is just the beginning of their operational journey, said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies. “The IAF will now accelerate bringing the Rafale into its offensive architecture in the shortest possible time,” he said.
Two IAF Sukhoi-30s joined the arrow formation of the five Rafales after they entered Indian airspace in the western sector and escorted the fighter jets to their home base where the planes were given a water salute in time-honoured aviation tradition.
In another tweet that possibly
THE ARRIVAL OF THE RAFALES IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THEIR OPERATIONAL JOURNEY, SAID AIR VICE MARSHAL
targeted China and internal critics of the Rafale deal, Singh said if anyone should be worried or be critical about the IAF’S new capability, it should be those who want to threaten India’s territorial integrity.
The deal for the warplanes became controversial over allegations of corruption levelled by the Congress in the run up to the 2019 general elections, though the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government rejected the charge.
The NDA government’s decision to buy 36 Rafales was announced in April 2015, with the deal signed a little more than a year later.
This replaced the previous United Progressive Alliance’s decision to buy 126 Rafale aircraft, 108 of which were to be made in India by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited using parts imported from France.
A Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG) audit tabled in February last year concluded that the new deal was 2.86% cheaper than the price negotiated by UPA government. It did not disclose pricing details.
The Rafales will be a part of the IAF’S No. 17 Squadron, which is also known as “Golden Arrows”. The aircrew that brought the Rafales to India was headed by Group Captain Harkirat Singh, a decorated fighter pilot, who is the commanding officer of the No. 17 Squadron.
Indian destroyer INS Kolkata, deployed in the Western Arabian Sea, made radio contact with Singh (Arrow leader), with the captain of the warship welcoming the Rafales to Indian Ocean. Singh responded by saying, “Many thanks. Most reassuring to have an Indian warship guarding the seas.”
The commanding officer of INS Kolkata said: “May you touch the sky with glory. Happy landings.” Singh replied: “Wish you fair winds. Happy hunting. Over and out.”
The aircraft covered a distance of nearly 8,500km from France to India.
“The first stage of the flight covered a distance of 5,800km in seven and a half hours (from Merignac
to Al Dhafra). The second stage of the flight covering over 2,700km was carried out with airto-air refuelling by IAF tanker,” the IAF said in a statement.
While the French air force refuelled the fighters — three single-seater and two twin-seater aircraft — on their way to Al Dhafra, aerial refuelling support was provided by the IAF’S Russian Ilyushin-78 refuellers for the second leg of the journey from Al Dhafra to Ambala.
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and senior air force officials welcomed the Rafales and the pilots at Ambala.
The first Rafale’s RB-001 tail number denotes the initials of the IAF chief: Rakesh Bhadauria. He led the complex negotiations for the Rafale deal.
The new fighters — the first imported jets to be inducted into the IAF in 23 years after the Russian Sukhoi-30 jets entered service in June 1997 — will enhance the offensive capabilities of IAF, which has for long planned to update its fighter jet force.
The jets -- first of the 36 Rafale jets purchased from French firm Dassault in a government-to-government deal worth ~59,000 crore in September 2016 -- have been specially tailored for IAF.