The first batch of five Rafale multi-role fighter jets will be formally inducted into the Indian Air Force today at Ambala air base in Haryana, at a time when India is engaged in an escalating border row with China in eastern Ladakh.
The multi-role French-made fighter jets will become a part of the IAF’s 17 Squadron “Golden Arrows”. “New bird in the arsenal of IAF,” the Air Force tweeted this morning.
“The programme will include ceremonial unveiling of the Rafale aircraft, a traditional sarva dharma puja, air display by Rafale and Tejas aircraft as well as by the Sarang aerobatic team,” an IAF spokesperson said, describing the ceremony as a “very important milestone” in the history of the Indian Air Force.