New Delhi : India will receive the sixth batch of three Rafale fighter jets from France on Wednesday, said the Embassy of India in France.
“Next batch of three #Rafales leave from France to India today; wished the pilots smooth flight and safe landing,” India in France wrote in a tweet.
Earlier, on April 22, the fifth batch of Rafale fighter aircraft with four planes arrived in India after flying a distance of 8,000 km from the Merignac Air Base in France.
“After a direct ferry from #MerignacAirBase, France, the 5th batch of Rafales arrived in India on 21 Apr. The fighters flew a distance of almost 8,000 kms with air-to-air refuelling support by @Armee_de_lair and UAE AF. IAF thanks both the Air Forces for their co-operation,” Indian Air Force tweeted.
India had ordered 36 of these fighter aircraft from France in September 2016.
The twin-engine Rafale jets are capable of carrying out a variety of missions: ground and sea attack, air defence and air superiority, reconnaissance, and nuclear strike deterrence.
The Rafales carrying the long-range Meteor air to air missiles have given an edge to Indian planes over their Chinese and Pakistani rivals.
The planes equipped with the Hammer missiles have enhanced their capability to carry out air to ground strikes like the one in Balakot.