New Delhi – India signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement in 2016 with theFrench government and Dassault Aviation of France for the acquisition of 36multirole fighter aircraft in fly-away condition at the cost of over 7.8billion euros. Rafales are capable of carrying a range of potent weaponsand missiles.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to France on 8 October toreceive the first aircraft.
Dassault will refit the jet with various India-specific modificationsincluding Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, lowband jammers, infra-red search and tracking systems among others.
Besides this Israeli military is also equipping Indian fighter jets withlatest air to air and guided missiles and avionics to face PakistanMilitary jets.
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The aircraft will be inducted into the Indian Air Force on 8 October, butit will arrive in India in May 2020 after being refitted and following thetraining of Indian pilots and engineers.
Rafale fighter jets will be deployed to Ambala airbase in Haryana on thewestern front and Hashimara airbase in West Bengal on the eastern front.
The 7.8 billion-euro Rafale deal for the acquisition of 36 multirolefighter aircraft was signed in 2016 between the Indian and Frenchgovernments and Dassault Aviation of France.
