April is important for Indo-French strategic cooperation.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly to visit India.
Air Force Chief RKS Bhadoria will visit France.
New Delhi, 09 March: The next month of April will be very important for Indo-French strategic cooperation, as French Defense Minister Florence Parly visits India. After this, RKS Bhadauria, the Chief of the Indian Air Force, will visit France. Eight more Rafale will reach India next month, after which India will have 19 fighter jets Rafale.
With this, the first 17 Arrow Squadron formed in Ambala for Rafael will be completed.
The first batch of five Rafale jets from the French company reached Ambala airbase on July 29 following a stopover at Al Dhafra airbase near Abu Dhabi.
The Indian Air Force formally inducted these fighter jets into its fleet on September 10, 2020. After this, the second batch of three Rafale fighter jets arrived directly from France at the Jamnagar airbase of Gujarat in early November last year.
India has also operationalized these fighter jets and deployed them on the fronts of China and Pakistan. In the third batch, three Rafale jets landed at Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat on January 27, completing a flight of more than 7000 km from France. During the flight, all three fighter jets were fuelled in the air by the United Arab Emirates Air Force.
So far, 11 Rafale have come to India and become part of the Indian Air Force fleet. Eight more Rafale will arrive in India next month.
In 2016 from French company Dassault Aviation Out of the 36 Rafale fighter jets ordered, India will have 19 fighter jets Rafale. Of the 36 Rafale aircrafts received by the Air Force, 30 will be combat aircraft and six will be training aircraft.
The training aircraft will be of two seats and will have almost all the features that fighter aircraft have. An Air Force squadron consists of 16 combat aircraft and two pilot training aircraft. In this way, the first 17 Arrow Squadron formed in Ambala for Rafale will be completed after getting 19 jets.
The second squadron of Rafale aircraft is formed at Hashimara, Kolkata. That is, the remaining 17 Rafales from France will be handed over to the second squadron.
Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, visited India in early January. He offered on behalf of the French government to increase investment in India. French defense company Dassault Aviation wants to manufacture more than 100 Rafale fighter jets in India under ‘Made in India’ but India had expressed its intention that after all 36 Rafale jets are supplied Decision will be taken. There were indications of French Defense Minister Florence Parly visiting India soon at the time of his visit.
Earlier Florence Parly formally inaugurated the 5 Rafael jets he had met in France in the first batch she came to India on September 10 2020 on the occasion of induction into the Air Force.
The next month of April will be very important in terms of strategic cooperation between India and France, as French Defense Minister Florence Parly will be visiting India. No, but the visit of the French Defense Minister is considered important for many defense deals.
During her visit, the proposal of France may also be discussed in which the French Government The offer has been made to increase investment in India, followed by Indian Air Force chief RKS Bhadauria, who will travel to France.
