Rajasthan hails Jalore-born Wing Commander arriving with Rafael jets today

Rafael’s 7000 km long journey from France to India will end on Wednesday and Rajasthan's local hero, Tripathi has taken charge of one of the coveted aircraft.

Jalore (Rajasthan): With the much-awaited Rafael fighter jets set to arrive in India today, people of Rajasthan are celebrating a local hero from Jalore who 'touched the sky with glory' since joining the Indian air force (IAF) in 2001.

The 36-year-old Wing Commander Abhishek Tripathi, along with seven other IAF pilots will arrive at Ambala airbase from France at around 2 pm with the first batch of the fighter jets.

Ahead of Tripathi's arrival, the people of Jalore have started celebrating him on social media with stories from his childhood flooding the platform.

Abhishek Tripathy passed National Defence Academy (NDA) in 2001

Tripathi, who completed his MSc from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi after his initial education in Jalore, passed out from National Defence Academy (NDA) in 2001.

Following the training, he was inducted into the IAF as a flying officer. He was then promoted to the rank of flying lieutenant, squadron leader and is currently posted at Ambala as a wing commander.

A talented wrestler, he was inspired by Arya Veer Dal General Secretary Shivdutt Arya and joined Arya Veer Dal where he mastered the art of wrestling.

In 1997, Arya Veer Dal secured the second position in the district level wrestling competition under the representation of Tripathi. He also lead Arya Veer Dal to victory several times in the coming years.

Born on 9 January 1984, Tripathi's father, Anil Kumar Tripathi was in the Land Development Bank and mother, Manju Tripathi served in the Cell Tax Department.

Rajasthan's Jalore-born Wing Commander to reach with Rafael fighter Jets

Tripathi, along with other pilots of the Rafaels were trained on the aircraft by the manufacturer themselves, the French Dassault Aviation company with whom India had in 2016 signed the biggest-ever defence deal for acquiring 36 Rafale jets for over Rs 60,000 crore.

Reportedly, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria would also be visiting Ambala today to welcome the five Rafale combat aircraft.

The Indian Rafales took off from Al Dhafra in UAE at around 11 am IST where they made a pitstop for refuelling and resting.