The fifth batch of four Rafale fighter jets landed in India on Wednesday night flying non-stop from France after being flagged off from the Merignac air base by Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria who is there on a five-day visit.
This completes the first Rafale squadron in the IAF, the No.17 Golden Arrows based in Ambala.
“The 5th ferry marks end of training of our third batch of pilots and all our maintenance crew,” ACM Bhadauria said after flagging off the jets.
The fighters flew a distance of almost 8,000 km with air-to-air refuelling support by the French Air Force and the UAE Air Force, the IAF said on Twitter.
India had contracted 36 Rafale jets from France under a €7.87 billion Inter-Governmental Agreement in September 2016 and the first five jets were inducted last September.
