'Golden Arrows reach home': IAF chief Bhadauria welcomes fiery Rafale jets at Ambala base

In a major boost to India's defence arsenal, Indian Air Force received first five Rafale Jets on Wednesday. French-me Rafale jets were welcomed by Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhauria and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command, Air Marshal B Suresh at Ambala airbase. jets took off from Merignac airbase in French port city of Bordeaux on Monday and arrived here after covering a distance of 7,000 km with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop in United Arab Emirates.

Defence Minister welcomes Rafales

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh welcomed India's powerful new entrants and also thanked French Government and Dassault Aviation for ensuring timely delivery amid pandemic. Raksha Mantri highlighted that aircraft has 'very good flying performance' and that its weapons, rar and or sensors and Electronic Warfare capabilities are amongst best in world. "Its arrival in India will make IAF much stronger to deter any threat that may be posed on our country," Singh tweeted. 

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PM Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, too welcomed Rafale jets as he shared a Sanskrit couplet lauding new defence entrants. Highlighting ir ded value to Indian airforce's defence prowess, PM Modi said welcomed jets which will protect Indian skies. Similarly, Home Minister Amit Shah too welcomed five jets which landed at Haryana's Ambala airbase after a 2-day journey from France.

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India's Rafale airpower

first fleet of five jets comprises three single-seater and two twin-seater aircraft arrived in India nearly four years after two countries inked an inter-governmental agreement to supply 36 of multi-role jets to Indian Air Force (IAF) under a Rs 59,000-crore deal. All 36 jets are expected to arrive in India by September 2022, for which IAF has been reportedly undertaking preparations, including reying required infrastructure and training of pilots.

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WATCH: Five Rafale Jets Touch Down At Indian Air Force's Ambala Air Base