The contract between the governments of India and France for 36 aircraft (two squadrons) at a cost of Euro 7.8 billion in 2016. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will receive 1+3 India specific Rafale fighter jets

The Rafale that the Indian Air Force (IAF) will get formally in service next year is all loaded up with the new generation technologies and avionics. The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will receive 1+3 India specific Rafale fighter jets after performing the `Shastra puja’ on the occasion of Vijayadashami.

The minister who left on Air Indian flight to Paris on Monday afternoon will participate in the handing over ceremony at Merignac along with the French Minister of Armed Forces Ms. Florence Parly.

What Is IAF Going To Get?

The first aircraft which made the maiden flight in October 2018 has been designated as RB008.
RB is the initial of the new IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria.
He was the lead negotiator as a deputy chief at that time.
All the 36 Rafales which are the state of the art jets will arrive by April 2022, as per the contract.
These are not only multi-role fighter machines but are nuclear-capable too.
They have the capability to be deployed in dual roles—air-to-air and air-to-ground roles.

Weapons & Avionics

The aircraft is coming with Meteor missile.
Active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar
The SPECTRA integrated electronic warfare suite.
Meteor Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missiles (BVRAAM).
SCALP air-to-ground cruise missiles with a range of up to 300 Km.
The aircraft has the capacity to carry almost 9,500 kg external loads and it has 14 hard-points.
There are plans to later put on BrahMos NG missile.

Their Home

According to IAF, preparations are going on for building the infrastructure at two Air Force bases – in Ambala & Hashimara, West Bengal.

Besides the pilots the ground handling crew is going to be trained extensively in three batches in France.

The contract between the governments of India and France for 36 aircraft (two squadrons) at a cost of Euro 7.8 billion in 2016.

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