Touchdown: Rafales land on Indian soil, marks a new era in military’s history

Start of a new era in India’s military is how Defence Minister Rajanath Singh described the historical touchdown of five Rafale combat aircrafts on Wednesday. These multirole aircraft will revolutionise the capabilities of the Indian Air Force.

It is nearly after two decades that India received its first batch of new multirole combat fighters. With this the country’s air power gets a strategic edge in the midst of a tense border row with China in Eastern Ladakh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also welcomed the arrival of the aircrafts. The aircraft will be officially inducted into the IAF in the second half of August.

The aircraft, having an undisputed track record and considered one of the most potent combat jets globally, landed at the Ambala Air Force base at around 3.10 pm after covering a distance of 7,000km from the Merignac airbase in French port city of Bordeaux.

“The Birds have landed safely in Ambala,” Defence Minister Rajanath Singh tweeted. He said that if anyone should be worried about the Indian Air Force’s capability it should be those who want to threaten “our national integrity.”

The comment has an undertone of a warning to China.

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. Singh said that “the touchdown of Rafale combat aircrafts in India marks the beginning of a new era in our military

A security blanket has been thrown around the air force station by the police to prevent any photography and videography of the arrival of the aircraft. Section 144 has also been imposed in four villages close to Ambala air base.