The Rafale aircraft will provide the Indian Air Force strategic deterrence and requisite capability to engage targets at long ranges, the Defence Ministry said, adding the training of the first batch of officers and technicians is underway with the French Air Force.
A former airman of the Indian Air Force has donated Rs 1.08 crore to the Defence Ministry here.
Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a defence public sector undertaking, will have an order book of Rs 25,000 crore for the next five years, including Rs 8,084 crore orders currently on hand.
The Air Marshal was briefed about the safety procedures before the flight. He also flew a sortie in a simulator to acclimatize with the aircraft systems and handling procedures.
IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria has said that the Rafale fighter jets and the Sukhoi jets will be a deadly combination once they start operating jointly. The Indian Air Force Vice Chief said the combination would be a cause of worry for India's enemies, including Pakistan.
In a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State in the Defence Ministry Shripad Naik said the AN-32 aircraft is the workhorse of the IAF transport fleet and is used to sustain troops in far flung areas of northeast India.
"The first Rafale will be delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in two months from now, I think in September, perfectly on time. Thirty-six will come within the next two years," French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler said.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) Jaguar aircraft suffered a bird hit in Ambala on Thursday morning, reported news agency ANI.
An Indian Air Force contingent comprising over 100 warriors departed for France on Tuesday to participate in a two-week exercise with the French air force.
A search operation to retrieve the mortal remains of six of the 13 people who were killed in the AN-32 crash on June 3 were hampered due to inclement weather in the area, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said on Saturday.
IAF search teams did not find any survivors on crash site of AN-32 aircraft.The families of the 13 personnel have already been informed that there are no survivors.
Wreckage of missing AN-32 plane found after 8 days, watch first visual here
The Indian Air Force has lost nearly 10 aircraft this year, the latest being an AN-32, whose wreckage was spotted on Tuesday in a heavily- forested mountainous terrain in Arunachal Pradesh, eight days after it went missing after taking off from Assam's Jorhat.
Parts of aircraft, believed to be that of missing AN-32 found north of Lipo in Arunachal Pradesh
Wreckage of the missing AN-32 aircraft found in Arunachal Pradesh
Aerial search operation resumed on Monday after a gap of two days as efforts to trace a missing transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force continued for eighth consecutive days in remote Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh, officials said.
The IAF team is based in Paris in connection with the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter planes, the first of which is expected to be delivered to India in September this year.
Poor weather conditions had disrupted the aerial search operation for the missing AN-32 aircraft on Saturday.
There was no breakthrough in the search of the AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force that went missing with 13 persons on board with operations continuing for the fifth day on Friday amid inclement weather, officials said.
The IAF had deployed four Mi-17 helicopters, three advanced light helicopters, of which two belonged to the Army, two Sukhoi-30 aircraft, one C-130 transporter aircraft and one Unmanned Aerial Vehicle of the Army.
Top News
Latest News
