Last of 36 IAF Rafale aircraft lands in India

New Delhi, Dec 15: The 36th and last Rafale fighter jet landed in India after taking off from France, the Indian Air Force said on Thursday. ''The last of the 36 IAF Rafale aircraft landed in India after a quick en-route mid-air refuelling from a UAE Air Force tanker aircraft after taking off from France to reach India,'' ANI quoted Indian Air Force (IAF) officials as saying.

The deal was signed for 36 planes out of which 35 have already been delivered and stationed at Ambala, Haryana and Hashimara in West Bengal. The 36th aircraft with RB tail number has been provided to the Indian side by France with all its spares and other parts replaced as it was being used for developmental activities, the officials added.

Out of 36 Rafale jets, 30 will be fighter jets and six will be trainers. The trainer jets will be twin-seater and they will have almost all the features of the fighter jets

On the other hand, the Indian Air Force has been upgrading the planes to the highest standards and has been equipped with all India-specific enhancements.

The multirole Rafale jets, built by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are known for air-superiority and precision strikes. 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 Rs 59,000 crore, according to a PTI report.

It was inducted into the IAF after the the border issue intensified with China and it was operating over Ladakh within a week.

The Rafale jets are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 year 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 and Scalp cruise missile will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.