The five Rafale aircraft at Ambala Air Force Station were inducted to the Indian Air Force’s 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’
with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly in attendance.
The French minister was the chief guest at the event. Before leaving for Ambala earlier this morning, Parly received a ceremonial Guard of Honour on her arrival in Delhi and met Singh at the Palam Air Force Station.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presented a memento to French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly, at the RafaleInduction ceremony in Ambala airbase.
IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal (ACM) R.K.S. Bhadauria was also present at the induction ceremony.
“The India-France friendship is rock solid and is time-tested. It based on commonality and trust… Today I warmly congratulate all the people on both sides who put in their heart and soul into making the induction ceremony possible,” Minister of the Armed Forces of France Florence Parly at Ambala airbase.
Speaking at the ceremony, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the induction of the five Rafale fighter jets is important given the kind of situation that has been created on the country’s borders in recent days. “The induction of Rafale into IAF also represents the strong ties between India and France. The strategic ties between our two countries have also strengthened,” he added.
“This induction could not have happened at a more opportune time considering the security scenario today,” Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said at Rafale induction ceremony.
He added, “From Ambala airbase, Rafales will be able to rapidly access our areas of interest.
A breathtaking display by IAF’s Sarang aerobatic team, sorties by indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas marked the ceremony that was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO besides others.
The five Rafale jets, three single-seat and two twin-seater trainers landed at the Ambala airbase 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.
