New Delhi: Indian Air Force Authorities received a first batch of five Rafale fighter jets on Wednesday at around 3 pm. The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets started at France on Monday and travelled a distance of 7K Kms from the Merignac airbase in French Port City of Bordeaux. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed in a tweet the arrival of first batch of Rafale fighter jets to India

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a tweet said that “The Birds have landed safely in Ambala,”, adding if anyone should be worried about the Indian Air Force’s new capability, it should be those who want to threaten “our territorial integrity”. Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed happy in a tweet and said the Government will always takes necessary steps to safeguard our sovereignty.

The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets landed at the Ambala airforce base in Haryana. The Rafales were escorted by two Sukhoi 30 MKIs after they entered the Indian air space and were given a water salute when they landed here. These multirole aircraft will revolutionize the capabilities of the IAF”.

The NDA government had inked a Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016 to procure 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the UPA regime.

The fleet, comprising three single seater and two twin seater aircraft, are being inducted into the IAF as part of its Ambala-based No 17 Squadron, also known as the ‘Golden Arrows’. The delivery of all 36 aircraft will be completed on schedule by the end of 2021.

While the first squadron of the Rafale jets will be stationed at Ambala airbase, the second one will based at Hasimara base in West Bengal. Authorities had imposed prohibitory orders near the Ambala Air Force Station and banned taking of pictures and videos. A large number of police personnel were also deployed in a three-kilometer radius. The IAF has spent around Rs 400 crore to develop required infrastructure like shelters, hangars and maintenance facilities at the two bases. While the first squadron of the Rafale jets will be stationed at Ambala airbase, the second one will based at Hasimara base in West Bengal.