Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday, 8 February, informed Rajya Sabha that 11 Aircrafts have arrived in India while the entire sanctioned batch of the aircraft will be inducted into the Indian Air Force by April 2022.
On 29 July 2020, India received its first batch of five Rafale jets from France after signing an Inter governmental agreement to procure 36 aircrafts at the cost of Rs 59,000 crore.
Meanwhile, the second batch of three Rafale combat aircraft arrived in India on 4 November 2020.
On 27 January 2022, three Rafale combat aircrafts arrived in India after flying non-stop from France, notified an Indian Air Force official.
"These three jets will be added to the then fleet of eight Rafale aircrafts. By March this year, seven more Rafales will be inducted,” Singh informed Rajya Sabha.
The Rafale combat aircraft is manufactured by French company Dassault Aviation. It is a 4.5 generation aircraft and has the latest weapons, superior sensors and fully integrated architecture. It is an omni-role aircraft which means it can carry out at least four missions in one sortie.
The fighter jet has HAMMER missiles. It will also be armed with beyond visual range missiles like Meteor, SCALP and MICA, increasing its ability to take on incoming targets from a distance.
This copy has been edited for clarity.
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