IAF chief to flag off six Rafale jets from France

The six Rafale warplanes were earlier scheduled to fly to India on April 28 but the event was advanced by a week to coincide with IAF chief Rakesh Bhadauria’s visit

Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Bhadauria will flag off six Rafale fighter jets from Merignac-Bordeaux airbase in France on April 21, setting the stage for activating the second Rafale squadron at Hasimara in West Bengal, people familiar with the matter said.

Indian Air Force's Rafale fighter jet lands during the first day of the Aero India 2021 Airshow at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bangalore on February 3, 2021.(AFP)

The IAF chief is scheduled to visit France from April 20 and will be in the country till April 23. It is understood that during his France visit, Air Chief Bhadauria will visit a French Rafale squadron, meet his counterpart Philippe Lavigne and visit the newly established Space Command in Paris.

The arrival of the six Rafale jets, flagged by IAF chief Rakesh Bhadauria, will raise the number of the Omni-role fighters with the IAF to 20 of the 36 contracted Rafale jets to India. “The six fighters will fly to Ambala airbase, from where the fighters will be repurposed for the formation of a second squadron at Hasimara,” said a senior air force officer.

The formation of a second Rafale squadron at Hasimara will add teeth to India’s aerial capability with Hercules C-130 J airlift squadron based in Panagarh in the northern part of West Bengal. Given the location of both the squadrons on the gates of Siliguri corridor, the IAF will have the power to counter any offensive from the north in the eastern sector, particularly in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

According to Dassault Aviation officials, another batch of four Rafale jets will fly to India in May. In addition to these 24, which will be with the IAF in India, the aviation giant has handed over seven more Rafale fighters that are used for training IAF officers in France. By May-end, only five more fighters are to be handed over by Dassault to complete the full package of 36 aircraft.

There is a huge potential to strengthen defence cooperation between India and France since Paris does not impose any condition to any military sales or joint development with India. It is also in this context that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to France after wrapping up the India-European Union Summit in Portugal on May 7.

France is the only country with a well-developed military industry that has no defence dealings with Pakistan or China and has bilateral convergence in Indo-Pacific and space cooperation.

France’s ties with Pakistan have hit a new low with Islamists groups like Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan seeking retribution for remarks by President Emmanuel Macron they consider “blasphemous”. There have been suggestions that the belligerence of Islamists in Pakistan can force Paris to downgrade ties with Islamabad.