India will induct the Rafale fighter jets in a formal induction ceremony on 10 September and the ceremony would be attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart Florence Parly, reported by Theprint.
But even more, important news is the arrival of the second batch of Rafale fighter jets — likely to be four in number will arrive at the Ambala Air Force Station in October. The arrival of these four additional fighter jets will bolster our airpower even more.
The five Rafale jets India that landed in the Ambala airbase on 29 July, include two twin-seaters trainers and three single-seat fighters after it had flown 8,500 km from Merignac in France, with a stopover in UAE.
The newly acquired Rafale fighters are a 4.5 generation aircraft, the Rafale is considered as an ‘omnirole’ aircraft that can carry out different missions on a single flight.
The new aircraft would have to be able to carry out a very wide range of missions:
Air-defense / air-superiority, Anti-Access/Aera Denial, Reconnaissance, Close air support, Dynamic Targeting, Air-to-ground precision strike/interdiction, Anti-ship attacks, Nuclear deterrence, buddy-buddy refuelling
After a long delay, India had ordered 36 Rafale fighters in 2016, on a government to a government contract. However, the numbers are just too small for the IAF, which is faced with a dwindling fighter squadron. At present, the IAF has a strength of 31 squadrons against the requirement of 42 Squadrons which is crucial for our national security.
It is quite possible when the French defence minister will arrive for the formal indication of Rafale, talks on the purchase of an additional 36 Rafale fighters could doing the rounds.