Three more Rafale jets arrive in India

With the arrival of the new batch, the number of Rafale aircraft has increased to eight

November 04, 2020 10:22 pm | Updated November 05, 2020 01:57 pm IST - New Delhi

 A Rafale jet seen over Leh on Wednesday.

A Rafale jet seen over Leh on Wednesday.

The second batch of three Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) reached the Jamnagar airbase from France late on Wednesday night.

“Second batch of Rafale aircraft arrived in India at 8:14 pm on November 04 after flying non-stop from France,” the IAF said on Twitter. The second batch got airborne from the Istres airbase in France and flew for over eight hours before landing in India, it said.

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“They covered a distance of over 3700 nautical miles with three in-flight refuelling,” the IAF said.

The Rafales were supported in their journey by French Air Force mid-air refuelling aircraft.

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From Jamnagar, the jets will fly on to their home base in Ambala.

In September, the IAF inducted the first batch of five Rafales of 36 jets contracted from France.

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