New Delhi:
Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh welcomed the contingent of Rafale aircraft that reached Ambala today in a series of tweets in which he also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the French manufacturer of the l Dassault aircraft and congratulated the Indian Air Force. He did not forget the criticisms, warning that anyone who “worries or criticizes” would be “the one who wants to threaten our territorial integrity”.
The five Rafale fighter jets, accompanied by two Sukhoi-30s, entered Indian airspace this morning and landed in Ambala shortly after 3 p.m. The Russian-made Sukhoi-30s were the last foreign-made fighter jets to be inducted into the Air Force. In recent years, indigenous Tejas fighters have been added to the fleet.
The government signed the agreement of Rs 59,000 crore for the acquisition of 36 Rafale jets from the French aerospace company Dassault Aviation in September 2016.
“The Rafale jets were purchased only because Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi made the right decision to pass these planes under an intergovernmental agreement with France, after the pending procurement file for them “couldn’t progress. I thank him for his courage and determination,” Rajnath Singh tweeted.
Rafale jets were purchased solely because PM Shri @Narendra Modi took the right decision to pass these planes under an intergovernmental agreement with France, after the pending procurement file for them could not progress. I thank him for his courage and determination.
– Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 29, 2020
In another tweet, he praised the performance of the Rafale planes, saying they had “very good flight performance” and that their weapons, radar and other electronic warfare sensors and capabilities are “among the best in the world“. The arrival of the Rafales, he said, “will make the air force much stronger to deter any threat that may be posed to our country.”
“The Rafale aircraft were purchased when they fully met the operational requirements of the IAF. The baseless allegations against this purchase have already been answered and have been resolved,” one of the tweets said. Mr Singh did not name Congress, which targeted the government on the acquisition ahead of Lok Sbaha’s polls last year, accusing him of corruption and crony capitalism.
The new fleet will be inducted into the IAF this afternoon as part of Air Force No 17 Squadron, also known as the “Golden Arrows”.
“I congratulate the IAF on a professionally run ferry. I am sure 17th Squadron, the Golden Arrows, will continue to live by their motto “Udayam Ajasram”. I am extremely happy that the combat capability of the IAF has been enhanced in a timely manner ”. read a tweet from the minister.
The jets – which took off from Mérignac in southwestern France on Monday and made a stopover at Al-Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates – reached Ambala after traveling nearly 7,000 km.
