PM Modi, Rajnath Singh welcome five Rafale jets

New Delhi/Ambala, July 29: “The birds have landed safely in Ambala”, tweeted Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as the five Rafale jets made a safe landing today at Ambala Air Force Station.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed these jets with a tweet in Sanskrit which said that they have been dedicated to the security of the nation. The PM also posted the video of the landing of these jets.

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria welcomed the Rafale jets batch at Ambala. The five fighter aircraft flown by the IAF pilots from France to India, landed at Ambala Air Force Station covering a distance of 7000 km with air-to-air refueling and a single stop in the United Arab Emirates.

“The Birds have landed safely in Ambala. The touch down of Rafale combat aircraft in India marks the beginning of a new era in our Military History. These multirole aircraft will revolutionize the capabilities of the @IAF_MCC,” tweeted Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

As soon as the Rafale jets landed, the new fighter jets were given a water salute at the Indian Air Force airbase in Ambala, Haryana.

The aircraft will be officially inducted into the IAF in the second half of August.

Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had tweeted about five Rafale fighter jets entering the Indian air space, which was escorted by two Sukhoi-30 MKIs as they entered the Indian air space.

The Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata (D63), which is deployed in the Arabian Sea had earlier established contact with the Rafale jets and had welcomed the five Rafale jets.

The five Rafale jets are to be inducted into the Indian Air Force at the Ambala later in August. They had left the Dassault Aviation’s Bordeaux-Merignac facility on Monday, July 27.

After entering Indian Airspace, the Indian Rafale contingent was welcomed by establishing radio contact with Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata, deployed in the Western Arabian Sea.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the touch down of Rafale combat aircraft in India marks the beginning of a new era in the country's Military History.

He expressed confidence that 17 Squadron, the Golden Arrows, will continue to live up to their motto of "Udayam Ajasram". Singh expressed happiness that the Indian Air Force’s combat capability has got a timely boost.

He said that the Rafale jets were purchased only because Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the right decision to get these aircraft through an Inter-Governmental Agreement with France after the long-pending procurement case for them could not progress.

Singh thanked him for his courage and decisiveness. He also thanked the French Government, Dassault Aviation, and other French companies for ensuring the timely delivery of the aircraft and its weapons, despite the severe restrictions posed by the COVID pandemic.

The five aircraft are part of 36 planes bought by India from France in an Rs. 59,000-crore inter-governmental deal in 2016. The delivery of all 36 aircraft will be completed on schedule by the end of next year.