The much-awaited Rafale fighter aircrafts that arrived in India last month, will be officially inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Ambala airbase in Haryana in a ceremony on September 10.
French Defence Minister Florence Parly is also likely to attend the event as an invitation is being sent to him.
“The Rafale aircraft induction ceremony would be held on September 10 with the Defence Minister as the Chief Guest. The French Defence Minister is also being sent an invite to attend the event to mark the strategic friendship between India and France,” the sources said.
The induction ceremony would be held after Rajnath Singh’s return from Russia where he is scheduled to attend the meeting of the Defence Ministers of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation from September 4 to 6.
Five Rafale fighter aircrafts, which arrived in India on July 29, are part of the 17 Golden Arrows squadron of the Air Force. Out of the five, three are single-seaters and two are twin-seaters.
The Rafales are expected to give an edge to the IAF in the South Asian skies due to its long-range hit capabilities.
India has contracted 36 Rafales from French firm Dassault Aviation under the largest-ever defence deal signed by the country worth over ₹60,000 crore. The deal was signed in September 2016 with Manohar Parrikar as the Defence Minister and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
When Rajnath Singh became Defence Minister, he went to France to accept the first Rafale for India in October 2019 on Dussehra and also flew in the aircraft which was accepted after performing ‘pooja’ with traditional Hindu rituals.
