New Delhi:Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday said that the second batch of Rafale aircraft has been arrived at Jamnagar air base in Gujarat.The fighter jets have landed at Jamnagar air base after flying non-stop from France.
In a tweet, the IAF said, "Second batch of IAF #Rafale aircraft arrived in India at 8:14 pm on 04 November 20 after flying non-stop from France."
The first batch of five Rafale fighter aircraft were landed at Ambala air base in Haryana on August 29 after having a stop-over in UAE.
The five jets, three single seat and two twin-seater trainers, were flown from France by IAF pilots led by Commanding Officer of No. 17 squadron Group Captain Harkirat Singh.
The Indian Embassy in France had said in a statement that delivery of all 36 aircraft would be completed as per schedule by 2021-end.The second squadron would be based at Hasimara in West Bengal.
The Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) Western Air Command Air Marshal B Suresh welcomed the first five IAF Rafales which arrived at Air Force Station Ambala.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had then taken to Twitter to congratulate the IAF and Dassault Aviation, and said that the IAF's capability has gotten a "timely boost".
Rafale is a 4.5 generation aircraft and has the latest weapons, superior sensors and fully integrated architecture.(UNI)