At least 10 new Rafale fighter aircraft would be joining the current fighter fleet leading to the formation of the second squadron of the planes. The new additions would augment the number of fighter jets to 21. Currently, there are 11 Rafale jets in the country.
“Three Rafale fighters would be arriving in India in next two to three days directly flying from France with midair refuelling support by a friendly Air Force. Following that, we would be getting around 7-8 more of these fighters and their trainer version in the second half of next month. This would greatly boost our capability to carry out our missions,” senior government sources told ANI.
India had ordered 36 of these fighter aircraft from France in September 2016 and by April-end, more than 50 percent of these fighters would have arrived in India. The twin-engine Rafale jets are capable of carrying out a variety of missions-ground and sea attack, air defence and air superiority, reconnaissance, and nuclear strike deterrence.
