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3 more Rafale fighter aircraft land in India after a 7000 Km flight

With the new batch's arrival, the number of Rafale aircraft in the Indian Air Force inventory has reached 14.

Three more Rafale fighter aircraft land in India-VPN
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New Delhi, First Published Apr 1, 2021, 9:02 AM IST

The fourth batch of three Rafale fighter aircraft landed in India on Wednesday after flying non-stop from France.

With the new batch's arrival, the number of Rafale aircraft in the Indian Air Force inventory has reached 14.

"The 4th batch of three IAF Rafales landed on Indian soil after a direct ferry from Istres Air Base France," the IAF said in a tweet.

"The third batch of three Rafale aircraft landed at an IAF base. They flew over 7000Km with in-flight refuelling. The aircraft got airborne earlier in the day from Istres Air Base in France. IAF deeply appreciates the tanker support provided by UAE Air Force," it said in another tweet.

The first batch of five aircraft arrived at Ambala Air Force Station on July 29 last year and was formally inducted into IAF on September 10. 

The second batch of three jets landed on Indian soil on November 3, while the third batch of three more aircraft arrived in the country on January 27. 

In 2016, India signed a deal worth Rs 59,000 crore with France under an inter-governmental agreement for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets in readymade condition. 

Last month, the IAF had announced that the second squadron will be raised in mid-April in Hasimara of West Bengal after the first one has been fully raised in Ambala. Seven more aircraft are expected to join IAF by April-end. All 36 fighter aircraft will likely join the IAF fighter fleet by the year-end. 

Hasimara is located in the strategically-important Siliguri corridor and it will cover both central and eastern Tibet.

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