With the occupation of these six peaks in the eastern region of Ladakh, the Indian Army is now in a good position to monitor the movement Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

It is learnt that Indian Air Force is also flying Rafale fighter jets near the LAC to monitor the activities of the fighter planes of China. Five Rafale fighter aircraft, which were formally deployed at Ambala Air Base on September 10, were recently spotted conducting ‘familiarisation sorties’ in Ladakh.

Keeping in mind the aggressive nature of PLA, the IAF is looking to enhance its combat skills. The IAF has been on high alert following the recent incidents of firing by Chinese troops near the LAC.

Meanwhile senior army commanders of India and China held talks on implementing a five-point agreement reached between the two countries on disengagement of troops and de-escalation of the tense situation in eastern Ladakh.

The sixth round of Corps commander-level talks began on Monday in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) across India’s Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh. The Indian delegation is headed by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps of the Indian Army.

The team also included a joint secretary-level officer from the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) and Lt. Gen PGK Menon, who is expected to succeed Singh as the commander of the 14 Corps next month.

It is for the first time that a senior official from the MEA was part of the high-level military talks aimed at ending the four-month-long border standoff between in India and China.
Maj Gen Liu Lin, the commander of the South Xinjiang military region, is slated to lead the Chinese delegation.

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According to the reports by India Today, one of the IAF’s 10 current active woman fighter pilots is undergoing conversion training and will begin active duties flying Rafale jets with the 17 Squadron soon.

The IAF’s first five Rafale fighters were ceremonially inducted into the Golden Arrows squadron on September 10 in Ambala.

More Rafales will be arriving in October and December, with all 36 on order to be inducted by late 2021.

Women fighter pilots undergo an identical training regimen as their male counterparts. Once they are operational on a fighter type, they undergo conversion training, which is a curriculum pilots need to take when they switch from flying one aircraft to another.

In this case, the woman pilot will be converting from MiG-21 Bison to the Rafale, a vastly different and more modern jet in all respects.

The IAF’s 10 women pilots have flown a variety of jets so far, including the Su-30 MKI and MiG-29 UPG. Flt Lt Avani Chaturvedi, Flt Lt Bhawanna Kanth and Flt Lt Mohana Singh became the first women fighter pilots in 2016.

The government cleared women for fighter flying in 2016. So far, 10 women fighter pilots have been commissioned, with more in the pipeline each year.

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The fighter jets, built by French aviation firm Dassault, took off from the Merignac airbase in southern France’s Bordeaux.

India signed an inter-government agreement with France to procure 36 Rafale jets for the Indian Air Force under a Rs 59,000 crore deal nearly four years ago.

The fleet is expected to boost the IAF’s combat capabilities at a time when India is locked in a tense border situation in China.

Air to Air Refuelling planned during the first leg of the ferry will be undertaken by dedicated Tanker support from French Air Force. The aircraft are likely to reach AF Stn Ambala on 29 Jul 20. No 17 Sqn, 'The Golden Arrows', is being raised at #Ambala with #Rafale aircraft. 2/2

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 27, 2020

The Rafale aircraft will cover a distance of nearly 7,000km from France to India with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop at French airbase in the United Arab Emirates.

“Delivery of ten aircraft has been completed on schedule. Five will stay back in France for training Mission. The delivery of all thirty six aircraft will be completed on schedule by the end of 2021,” the Indian embassy in France said in a statement.

The Indian ambassador to France, Jawed Ashraf, interacted with the Indian pilots before they took off from France.

"Beauty and the Beast"- Rafale Fighter Aircraft. Ready to take off!! @DDNewslive @ANI @MEAIndia @JawedAshraf5 @rajnathsingh @PMOIndia @gouvernementFR @DrSJaishankar @IndianDiplomacy @Dassault_OnAir @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/qS9w9lP6CW

— India in France (@IndiaembFrance) July 27, 2020

The Rafale fighter jets are capable of carrying a range of highly effective weapons, including the Meteor air-to-air missile and Scalp cruise missile.

The Rafale jets will come with various India-specific modifications, including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, low-band jammers, 10-hour flight data recording, infra-red search and tracking systems among others.

The Air Force has readied the required infrastructure to welcome the jets in its line-up.

In November 2017, Indian National Congress alleged a ‘huge scam’ in Rafale fighter jets deal. The opposition party alleged that the contract violated the procurement procedure. The INC had said that the deal signed with France does not cater for technology transfer and has caused an insurmountable’ loss to the exchequer.

The Rafale deal has a 50 percent offset clause, a large part of which is to be executed by a joint venture company of Anil Ambani owned Reliance Defence.

The then Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded a probe and filed a contempt case. Following petitions to investigate the allegations, the Indian Supreme Court said in December 2018 that it found “no occasion to doubt the process” of the billion dollar deal.

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