Ambala (Haryana): The first batch of five Rafale jets are scheduled to land at the Ambala air base here on Wednesday afternoon with police tightening the security around the air force station.
The squadron of Rafale jets will be stationed at the Ambala air base in Haryana.
The jets took off from the Merignac airbase in French port city of Bordeaux on Monday and will arrive here after covering a distance of 7,000 km with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop in the United Arab Emirates.
The fleet of five jets comprises three single-seater and two twin-seater aircraft.
Infrastructure upgrades at Ambala base for Rafale squadron
Nearly four years ago, India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to purchase 36 Rafale jets under a Rs 59,000-crore deal to boost the IAF's combat capabilities. Of the 36 jets, 30 will be fighter jets and six will be trainers. The trainer jets will be twin-seater and they will have almost all the features of the fighter jets.
The five Rafales are scheduled to be inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday, though a formal induction ceremony would be held later.
The jets will be inducted into the IAF as part of its No 17 Squadron, also known as the 'Golden Arrows'.
The IAF has undertaken major infrastructure upgrades at the Ambala base for the deployment of the first Rafale squadron.
Built in 1948, the air base is located on the east side of Ambala and is used for military and government flights.
The air base has two squadrons of the Jaguar combat aircraft and one squadron of the MIG-21 'Bison'. Air Force Marshal Arjan Singh was the first commander of the base.
The Mirage fighters that were used for the air strike in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 after the Pulwama terror attack had taken off from here.
(With inputs from PTI)
