Amid uproar, IAF pilots train on Rafale aircraft
French embassy says joint flights on cards
New Delhi, Sept. 3: Three Rafale fighter jets are engaged in an exercise with the Indian Air Force in Gwalior and Agra, amid a raging controversy over the `58,000-crore deal to procure 36 of them by the government.
Officials said around 100 French aviators, one Atlas A-400M military transport aircraft, one C135 refuelling plane and an Airbus A310 cargo aircraft have also come to India along with the Rafale jets on a four-day visit. They said a batch of IAF pilots has got an opportunity to train on the Rafale jets.
The aircraft landed in India on Saturday after visiting Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore.
India had inked an intergovernmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around `58,000 crore. The delivery of the jets is scheduled to begin from September 2019. The Congress has raised several questions about the deal, including the alleged inflated rate , but the government has rejected the charges.
The French embassy in New Delhi said that joint flights and exchanges between the French and Indian Air Forces would be conducted as part of ‘Mission PEGASE’, the four-day tour by the French contingent.
“This mission in India is yet another illustration of the depth of the IndoFrench strategic partnership, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, and the great trust that prevails in the relations between our respective armed forces,” it said. It said the operational aim of Mission PEGASE is to reinforce the European nation’s presence in the region of strategic interest and deepen its relations with its main partner countries.
The French contingent is here days after it participated in ‘Operation Pitch Black’, a multilateral air exercises which took place in Australia recently. The Indian Air Force was also part of the mega exercise.
“This mission succeeds a major exercise in Australia, where our aircraft have carried out joint drills with those of the Indian Air Force,” the French Embassy said.