Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa flies Rafale

Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa during his four-day visit to France flew Rafale multi-role fighter jet at the Saint-Dizier airbase on July 18. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is procuring 36 of them from the French aviation major Dassault under a Euro 7.87 billion deal inked in September 2016.

The delivery of the jets, according to the deal will be completed in 67 months from the date of the contract signed. ACM Dhanoa’s visit, which began on July 17 and ends on July 20, is to ramp up cooperation between the air forces of the two countries in a range of areas.

A day after the sortie on a Rafale fighter, the CAS said that he was impressed with the superior swing role capability of the fighter and its integrated weapon sensor.

“I flew a Rafale in a two versus two mission involving two Rafales against two Mirage 2000D opponents. I am impressed with the superior swing role capability of the Rafale and its highly integrated weapon sensor and survivability suite,” said ACM Dhanoa.

The Rafale fighter jets, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, will come with various India-specific modifications including Israeli helmet mounted displays, radar warning receivers and low band jammers, among others.

The CAS also had an interaction with top executives of Dassault who briefed him about progress in the project to supply the jets to IAF.