NewsGate Press Network

With the backdrop of increasing tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, the last of the 36 IAF Rafale fighter aircraft landed safely in India on Thursday the 15th of December 2022.

“Fleet Dry ! The pack is complete, The last of the 36 IAF Rafales landed in India after a quick enroute sip from a UAE Air Force tanker, says Indian Air Force,” the IAF said in a tweet.

The IAF inducted the Rafale aircraft into its 101 Squadron of the Eastern Air Command at the Hasimara in July last year.

India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 to procure 36 Rafale fighter aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.

With the landing of the final Rafale aircraft, the delivery of all Rafale fighters from France is complete.

The first five Rafale aircraft for the IAF arrived at Air Force Station, Ambala from France on July 27, 2020. The Indian Air Force formally inducted the aircraft on September 10, 2020 in a ceremony at Air Force Station, Ambala.

France had supplied 35 Rafale aircraft and the country had to wait a little longer for the 36th aircraft.