Four More Rafale Fighter Jets To Arrive From France This Month, Will Raise Number Of Rafales With IAF To 24

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set for creation of the second Rafale squadron at Hasimara in West Bengal as four more Rafale fighters will land in India from France on 19 or 20 May.

The arrival of these four Rafale jets will raise the number of these fourth-generation-plus fighter jets with the IAF to 24, with another seven kept in France for training purposes.

“The Hashimara air base has been totally revamped and should be operational by end of this month. This will be the peace time location of the aircraft but in war times, the fighters will operate from anywhere in the country as per war plans,” said an Air Marshal.

“The Rafale package is a game-changer in the region as none of India’s adversaries have such capability to wage war beyond visual range,” he added.

The Rafale combat aircraft is manufactured by French company Dassault Aviation. India had inked an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore.

The Rafale is a 4.5 generation aircraft and has the latest weapons, superior sensors and fully integrated architecture. It is an omni-role aircraft which means it can carry out at least four missions in one sortie.

The fighter aircraft have HAMMER missiles. It will also be armed with beyond visual range missiles like Meteor, SCALP and MICA, increasing their ability to take on incoming targets from a distance.