India will receive first five French-made Rafale fighter aircraft next Wednesday.

According to information released on The Print website of India on July 26, 2020, five French-made Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft will arrive in India next Wednesday for operational deployment with a week. In September 2016, India has signed an agreement with France for the delivery of 36 Rafale fighter manufactured by the French company Dassault.

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India has ordered 36 French-made fighter aircraft manufactured by Dassault. (Picture source Twiter account aloysius)

French Company Dassault Aviation handed over the first of 36 Rafale fighter jets on order for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in a ceremony at the company’s Bordeaux-Mérignac production facility on October 8, 2019. The Indian pilots have been trained in France as a part of the contract.

According to the Diplomat website, Eighteen Rafale fighter jets will serve in the IAF’s 17 Squadron at Ambala Air Force Station. The second batch of 18 aircraft will serve in the IAF’s 101 Squadron at Hasimara Air Force Station in northeastern India.

The Rafale is a French-made twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike, and nuclear deterrence missions.

Introduced in 2001, the Rafale is being produced for both the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations in the French Navy. The Rafale has been marketed for export to several countries and was selected for purchase by the Indian Air Force, the Egyptian Air Force, and the Qatar Air Force. The Rafale has been used in combat over Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria.

The Indian Rafale will be fitted with some specific equipment according to the requirements of Indian Air Force including helmet mounted-display sights, a new electronic warfare package, infrared search-and-track sensors, and cold weather engine start-up gear for operating the aircraft from high-altitude airfields, as well as other equipment.

The Indian Rafale will be armed with MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile and the Anglo-French Storm Shadow low-observable air-launched cruise missile.