Amidst political slugfest between the BJP government and principal opposition party Congress over Rs 59,000 crore deal, the Indian Air Force deputy chief Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar on Thursday flew front seat on India-specific ‘Rafale’ in France.
The deputy chief flew the jet, a 17-year-old aircraft that is being used as a “testbed” for the 14 India-specific upgrades the IAF has asked for, in an 80-minute sortie at the Istres air base in France.
The French Dassault Aviation ‘Rafale’ fighter machine has onboard India Specific avionics and software that is meant to take care of India’s requirement during operations.
The deal of 36 fighters will have all of them being flown in a fly-away condition from France.
In 2016, India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale combat aircraft in a fly-away condition at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.
As per the schedule the delivery of the first aircraft starts in September next year.
Amidst political slugfest between the BJP government and principal opposition party Congress over Rs 59,000 crore deal, the Indian Air Force deputy chief Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar on Thursday flew front seat on India-specific ‘Rafale’ in France.
The deputy chief flew the jet, a 17-year-old aircraft that is being used as a “testbed” for the 14 India-specific upgrades the IAF has asked for, in an 80-minute sortie at the Istres air base in France.
The French Dassault Aviation ‘Rafale’ fighter machine has onboard India Specific avionics and software that is meant to take care of India’s requirement during operations.
The deal of 36 fighters will have all of them being flown in a fly-away condition from France.
In 2016, India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale combat aircraft in a fly-away condition at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.
As per the schedule the delivery of the first aircraft starts in September next year.
