Three more Rafale jets to reach India by Wednesday evening

NEW DELHI: Further boosting the Indian Air Force`s (IAF) capability amid tensions on the China border, three more Rafale fighter jets would reach India by Wednesday evening.

The aircraft are set to take off from France tomorrow morning and would arrive in India in the evening itself, government sources told ANI.

The additional aircraft would be adding more strength to the Air Force which has already started deploying the Rafales in operational role in conflict areas, the sources said.


The first batch of five Rafales flew into India on July 28 and was officially inducted on September 10 by the Narendra Modi government.

With the induction of these aircraft, the IAF would have eight fighter aircraft which will be operationalised within a few days.

The Rafale fighters have already been operationalised and have also been deployed in the conflict zone of Ladakh in the short duration of time they have been with the Air Force.

A total of 36 of these aircraft would reach India by mid-2022 under a Rs 60,000 crore deal signed in 2016 by the NDA government.