Image Source: Internet Photo

7000 km, single stop: Rafale jets take off from France airbase to India

New Delhi | 27 July 2020

More than four years after it inked the deal to acquire Rafale jets, India will receive the first batch on July 29 after five of the fighter aircraft took off from the Merignac airbase in southern France. India has bought 36 Rafale jets in a deal worth 7.87 billion euros.
The Indian Embassy in France took to Twitter to share a series of videos of the fighter jets. It termed the Rafale deal between India and France as �a new milestone in India-France defence cooperation�.
In the videos shared by the Indian Embassy, three Rafale jets can be seen taking off from the runway one after the other. In a press release, the Indian Embassy also said that the fighter aircrafts will be covering a distance of 7,000 kms with a single stop in UAE and air-to-air refuelling.
The first batch of the fighter jets includes five planes built by French aviation company, Dassault. They will be formally inducted at Air force Station in Ambala. In a statement, the Air Force had said,�No media coverage is planned on arrival. The final induction ceremony will take place in second half of August 20 wherein full media coverage would be planned.�
Before the Indian pilots took off from France, Jawed Ashraf, the Indian ambassador to France, interacted with them.
He also thanked the French Government for the timely delivery of the aircraft.