IAF to Receive First Rafale Jet From France on September 19, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, Rajnath Singh to Attend Ceremony

New Delhi, September 3: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will receive the first Rafale fighter jet from France on September 19. The formal induction ceremony will be held at Merignac in France. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa will attend the ceremony. Meanwhile, the first batch of four Rafale jets will reach India in next April-May 2019. What is Rafale Deal? All You Need To Know About French Fighter Jets Which Has Pitted Congress, BJP At Loggerheads.

According to a report published in Hindustan Times, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also likely to fly to France to attend the ceremony on September 19. Earlier, the media house had reported that the IAF had requested France to formally had over the first Rafale jet in the third week of September.

In February this year, three Rafale jets also took part in the Aero India show which was held in Bengaluru. Two of the fighters were used for flying exercises, and the third warplane was kept for static display. Rafale Deal Controversy: HAL Capable of Manufacturing Fighter Jets, Says Chairman R Madhavan.

India ordered 36 Rafale Jets, in September 2016. The entire deal was worth Rs 59,000 crore. In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced to procure 36 French-manufactured Rafale fighter jets from France. Initially, the UPA government had proposed a deal of Rs 78,000 crore (approx.) for acquiring 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), Rafale Fighter jets but it was not finalised.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2019 10:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).