10 more Rafale fighter jets to land in India by next month: Official

Six Rafale fighter jets will land in India on April 28, enabling the Indian Air Force (IAF) to take the first steps to raise its second squadron of the fourth-generation-plus fighter jets, according to a report by Hindustan Times. The next four fighter jets are expected to land in India in the month of May.

A senior IAF official said to Hindustan Times that with the induction of the 6 fighters will complete the Golden Arrows squadron - it currently has 14 fighters against a standard squadron strength of 18 - and enable the air force to induct 2 remaining planes from this batch in the second Rafale squadron to be raised at the Hasimara airbase in Bengal’s Siliguri corridor.

Earlier, the 4th batch of three IAF Rafales landed on Indian soil after a direct ferry from Istres Air Base France, informed the Indian Air Force on 31 March.

With the arrival of the three jets, the size of the Rafale fleet has increased to 14.

The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of ₹59,000 crore.

The formal induction ceremony of the fleet had taken place at Ambala on September 10 last.

A second batch of three Rafale jets arrived in India on November 3, while a third batch of another three jets joined the IAF on January 27.

The first Rafale squadron is based in Ambala air force station.

The Indian Air Force is set to raise the second squadron of the Rafale combat jets in mid-April and it will be based in Hasimara air base in West Bengal, according to military officials.

India is expected to get more Rafale jets from France in the next few months.

The Rafale jets, manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

The Rafale jets are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA's Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile, Scalp cruise missile and MICA weapons system will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.