ISLAMABAD – Indian Air Force is quietly making preparations, includingreadying required infrastructure and training of pilots, to welcome thefighter aircraft, official sources said.
They said the IAF is sending a batch of pilots by the end of this year toFrance for training on Rafale jets, PTI has reported.
A number of IAF teams have already visited France to help DassaultAviation, the manufacturer of Rafale, incorporate India-specificenhancements on-board the fighter aircraft.
India had inked an inter-governmental agreement with France in September,2016, for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs58,000 crore. The delivery of the jets — capable of carrying a range ofpotent weapons and missiles — is scheduled to begin from September nextyear.
Sources said Dassault Aviation has already started test flight of Rafalejets to be supplied to India and the company has been told to strictlyadhere to the timeline for delivery of the aircraft.
The Rafale jets will come with various India-specific modifications,including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, lowband jammers, 10-hour flight data recording, infra-red search and trackingsystems among others.
A team of IAF pilots have already trained on Rafale jets in France and theywill again go there by end of the year, sources said.
The Congress has raised several questions about the deal, including ratesof the aircraft, while the government has rejected the charges.
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Sources said the first squadron of the aircraft will be deployed in Ambalaair force station, considered one of the most strategically located basesof the IAF. The Indo-Pak border is around 220 km from there.
The second squadron of Rafale will be stationed at Hasimara base in WestBengal.
Officials said the government has already sanctioned around Rs 400 crore todevelop required infrastructure like shelters, hangers and maintenancefacilities at the two bases.
The sources said France has been regularly briefing India about progress inthe project to supply the jets.
In July last year, Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa, during his visit toFrance, flew a Rafale jet at the Saint-Dizier airbase to gain a first-handexperience of the aircraft.
