En route to UAE from French airbase at Merignac, the jets clicked getting mid-air refuelling at almost 30,000 feet. They are accompanied by two A330 Phoenix MRTT refuelling planes of the French Air Force. You don't want to miss these breathtaking photos of mid-air refuelling shared by IAF
The first batch of five Rafale jets will land in India on July 29. The jets are being flown to Ambala airbase by Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots and landed at Al Dhafra airbase in UAE on Monday after a sortie in excess of seven hours.
En route to UAE from French airbase at Merignac, the jets clicked getting mid-air refuelling at almost 30,000 feet. They are accompanied by two A330 Phoenix MRTT refuelling planes of the French Air Force.
The Indian Air Force thanked the French Air Force for the support during aircraft's journey back home.
Here are some breathtaking images of Rafale's mid-air fuelling shared by the Indian Air Force:
1. Five Rafale jets en route to India
)
In a long-awaited development, five Rafale fighter aircraft took off on Monday for India from an airbase in France to join the Indian Air Force fleet in Ambala.
2. IAF Rafale make a pit-stop at French airbase on UAE
)
All the five Rafale aircraft landed safely at the Al Dhafra airbase in UAE on Monday after a sortie in excess of seven hours, the Indian Air Force said.
3. Mid-air refuelling over sea
)
The jets were refuelled by the French Air Force tanker aircraft somewhere around Greece or Israel over the sea before landing there.
4. Rafales accompanied by refuelling planes of French Air Force
)
They are accompanied by two A330 Phoenix MRTT refuelling planes from the French Air Force.
5. Five Rafale jets to land at Ambala on July 29 morning
)
After a stopover, these will then proceed towards Ambala and reach by July 29 morning. The delivery of the aircraft was earlier supposed to have been done by May-end but this was postponed by two months in view of the COVID-19 situation in both India and France.
6. First batch of Rafale flown by IAF pilots
)
The fighter aircraft were flagged off by the Indian Ambassador to France from an airbase in Merignac where he interacted with the IAF crew. The five aircraft flying to India include seven Indian pilots including the commanding officer of the 17 Golden Arrows squadron.
All the pilots have been trained on the aircraft by the French Dassault Aviation company as per the agreement signed for the biggest-ever defence deal signed by India in 2016 for acquiring 36 Rafale jets for over Rs 60,000 crore.
