THE ARRIVAL OF BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Five Rafale - “Delight to Fight” as said by a senior from IAF, out of the 36 finalised in an intergovernmental deal with France by Prime Minister Modi, arrived on Wednesday at Ambala and are to be formally inducted in the IAF in August

- AYUSHEE CHAUDHARY

INDIA TOOK A SIGNIFICANT STEP IN STRENGTHENING AIR power and defence preparedness with the first five Rafale fighter aircraft, built by Dassault, flying out from Merignac airbase in Bordeaux, France to India. These five Indian Air Force (IAF) Rafale aircraft arrived at Air Force Station, Ambala on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Planned in two stages, the ferry from France was undertaken by Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots who had been undergoing training there. The Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) aircraft covered a distance of nearly 8,500 km from France to India. The three single-seat and two twin-seat omni-role fighters were flown by seven IAF pilots and led by Commanding Officer Group Captain Harkirat Singh. Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria visited Ambala to receive this first batch of five Rafale combat aircraft arriving from France.

PM WELCOMES RAFALE; DM CALLS IT A TIMELY BOOST As the Rafale jets landed in Ambala, the Prime Minister welcomed the aircraft with a tweet containing a few verses in Sanskrit along with a brief video of the landing at the Ambala Air Force station.

The tweet roughly translates into, “There is no virtue like protecting the nation, there is no vow like defence of the nation and there is no sacrifice like the defence of the nation. You who touch the skies, welcome”. This highlighted the importance of national security and strengthened the role of Rafale, coming straight from the leader of the nation.