Rafale jets were inducted into IAF at a ceremony in Ambala amid LAC tensions. Since arrival in July, the fighters have flown in Leh and completed bombing practice.
Anchors compared Rafale to China’s J-20 and Pakistan’s F-16 — and found it ‘better on all counts’. News18 India could see both enemy countries 'were shivering'.
India has bought 5 types of French fighters since 1953. While Jaguar was made by a French-British company, rest including Rafale are products of Dassault Aviation.
The 5 Rafale aircraft will spend the night at a French air base in UAE before arriving at Ambala air base Wednesday where a closed induction ceremony will be held.
While operational deployment usually takes six months, due to these 'extraordinary circumstances' the fighters will be ready to be deployed within a week.
Macaulay's intent was quite different from what has been propagated by Indian leaders and public intellectuals, who love to live in their own sectarian mental chambers.
Once acquired by IAF, the medium transport aircraft (MTA) will replace both AN-32s and IL-76s, it is learnt. The idea behind the revamp is to meet modern operational needs.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
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