Rafale Fighter Aircraft formally inducted in Indian Air Force

French made Rafale Fighter Aircraft has been formally inducted into the Indian Air Force at a formal function at Air Force Station, Ambala.

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Key-Points

The first five Rafale aircraft which arrived at Air Force Station, Ambala from France on 27th July 2020, would be part of 17 Squadron, the “Golden Arrows”.

The multirole and one of the most advanced flying machines, Rafale would be part of 17-Squadron, which is popularly known as the “Golden Arrows”, at the Ambala airbase.

The second batch of aircrafts is expected to arrive in India by the end of November this year.

The IAF would be acquiring a total of 36 Rafale jets from France and all the aircrafts are expected to be inducted into IAF by the end of 2021. Rafale aircrafts are India’s first major acquisition of fighter aircrafts for IAF after Sukhoi that were inducted around 23 years back.

The state-of-the-art 4.5 Generation Rafale jet can reach almost double the speed of sound, with a top speed of 1.8 Mach.

With its multi-role capabilities, including electronic warfare, air defence, ground support and in-depth strikes, the Rafale lends air superiority to the Indian Air Force.

The Rafale jets also come with SCALP, the air-to-ground cruise missile with a range over 300 km. It is a long-range deep strike missile.