Chandigarh, September 9: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will formally induct Rafale aircraft on September 10, 2020 at its Air Force Station in Haryana's Ambala. The aircraft will be part of 17 Squadron, also known as the 'Golden Arrows' Squadron. The much-awaited first five Indian Air Force Rafale aircraft arrived at Air Force Station from France on July 27. A total of five of the 36 medium multi-role Rafale fighter jets built by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault landed safely at the IAF airbase in Ambala. Rafale Fighter Jets Land in India: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Says 'Birds Have Landed Safely in Ambala'.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Mrs Florence Parly Minister of Armed Forces of France will be Chief Guest for the event. Parly will be given a ceremonial Guard of Honour on arrival at Delhi, the Indian Air Force said.  The second batch of four Rafale jets are likely to arrive in October, sources said.

Golden Arrows Squadron: 

  1. The fleet of Rafale aircraft, which comprises 3-single seater and 3-twin seater aircraft are being inducted into the IAF as part of its Ambala-based No 17 Squadron, which is also popularly known as the 'Golden Arrows' Squadron.

  2. The No. 17 Squadron is a squadron of the Indian Air Force stationed at Ambala AFS as part of Western Air Command. The squadron was number-plated in 2016, but was resurrected in Ambala on September 11, 2019 with Dassault Rafales.

Here's the tweet:

In July, Rajnath Singh thanked the French Government, Dassault Aviation and other French companies for ensuring the timely delivery of the aircraft and its weapons, despite severe restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In July, when the Rafale jets arrived in India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had tweeted saying that the 'Birds' had landed safely in Ambala. "The touchdown of Rafale combat aircraft in India marks the beginning of a new era in our Military History. These multirole aircrafts will revolutionise the capabilities of the @IAF_MCC," the minister had tweeted.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 09, 2020 02:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).