Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

It is expected that the full deliveries of 36 Rafale aircraft will be completed well before April 2022 as announced by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament. Another batch of three Rafale fighter jets landed at the Ambala airbase on Thursday, taking the total number of Rafales in the Indian Air Force (IAF) inventory to 23. According to people aware of the development in Dassault, four aircraft were supposed to take off from Merignac-Bordeaux airbase in France on May 20, but only three could because of the unavailability of more mid-air refuellers in the UAE. Although four Rafale Omni role fighters were supposed to leave on May 20, the flights were rescheduled due to maintenance issues with the mid air refuellers. The fighters could only take off today due to long weekend holidays in France, the people cited above said. The IAF is all set to resurrect the 101 “Falcons of Chamb” squadron at Hashimara in West Bengal. It is expected that the full deliveries of 36 Rafale aircra...

The UAE will, for the first time, hold combat readiness war game with Indian and French war ships at the trilateral naval exercises Varuna in the Persian Gulf Indian Navy warships will join the French flagship Charles de Gaulle carrier aircraft carrier along with United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navy for the three-day Varuna trilateral exercise to jointly test combat skills and war game in the Persian Gulf area starting April 25, people familiar with the matter said. This is the first time that the UAE is participating in the Varuna maritime exercise. India and France have been holding the exercise since 1993; it was christened Varuna in 2001. Officials said the Indian Navy’s sole aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya would not join the exercise since it is under maintenance. But the Indian Navy’s participation will seek to make up for INS Vikramaditya’s absence by sending two to three destroyers (possibly led by INS Kolkata, the lead ship of the navy’s Kolkata-class stealth guided-missile destr...

Asked for his reaction to Quad alliance countries joining the French naval exercises 'La Perouse' amidst reports that the drills are aimed to contain and check China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Tuesday reiterated Beijing's stand that such a cooperation should be conducive to peace in the region. China said on Tuesday that military cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace, a day after Quad members, including India, joined France in a mega naval wargame in the Indian Ocean amid Beijing's aggressive actions in the region. India and three other Quad member nations - the US, Australia and Japan - on Monday joined France in kick-starting the three-day naval exercises in the eastern Indian Ocean in reflection of their growing maritime cooperation amid China's growing efforts to expand influence in the region. The Indian Ocean, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy, is critical for India's strategic interests. China...

Six Indian Air Force (IAF) Su-30-MKI fighters will take off for United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 3 to participate in the multinational exercise 'Desert Flag' to be held there over three weeks. Six Indian Air Force (IAF) Su-30-MKI fighters will take off for United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday to participate in the multinational exercise 'Desert Flag' to be held there over three weeks this month. Ten countries, including the US, France and Saudi Arabia will take part in the high profile exercise. Two C-17s of the Indian Air Force will also be joining the Indian team for the exercise, IAF officials said. Sukhoi-30 MKIs were part of the squadron that carried out a  long-range precision strike against a practice target  to mark the  second anniversary  of the Balakot airstrike on Saturday. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Saturday flew a multi-aircraft sortie with the units to commemorate the occasion along with the squadron pilots. The sortie ...

A third batch of three Rafale fighter jets landed in India on Wednesday evening after flying non-stop from France, in a further boost to the strike capability of the Indian Air Force when India and China are engaged in a bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh.  With the arrival of the new batch, the number of the Rafale aircraft has increased to 11.  "The third batch of three Rafale aircraft landed at an IAF base a short while ago. They flew over 7000Km with in-flight refuelling. The aircraft got airborne earlier in the day from #IstresAirBase in France. IAF deeply appreciates the tanker support provided by UAE Air Force," the Indian Air Force said in a tweet.  The Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) of the United Arab Emirates provided mid-air refuelling to the three Rafale jets.  "Three more #Rafale jets take off from France for a non stop flight to India with mid air refueling by UAE MRTT; Adding more strength to India's air power. Wishing our amazing pilots smo...

The three new additions will add to the current fleet of eight Rafale jets. Three Rafale combat aircraft will arrive in India on Thursday after flying non-stop from France, an Indian Air Force official said on Wednesday.   The three Rafale combat aircraft, manufactured by French company Dassault Aviation, took off from Istres in France on Wednesday. The Indian Embassy in France tweeted that three more Rafale jets have taken off from Istres for a non-stop flight to India with mid-air refuelling. "Adding more strength to India's air power. Wishing our amazing pilots a smooth flight and safe landing with superb fighter jets," the Indian Embassy said. With three more aircraft, the IAF will now have 11 Rafale jets in service. Further, Indian Air Force pilots are being trained in batches at the Saint-Dizier air base in France. India received the first batch of five Rafale aircraft on July 29, 2020 which were inducted into the 17 'Golden Arrows' Squadron on September 10 ...

This batch of Rafale fighters will be the third set of deliveries of the French-origin aircraft to the Indian Air Force. Rafale combat aircraft at the Air Force Station in Ambala The Indian Air Force’s solitary Rafale squadron will add more muscle with the arrival of at least three more fighter jets in January, a shot in the arm for the IAF that is grappling with a shortage of combat planes, people familiar with developments said on Saturday on the condition of anonymity. This batch of Rafale fighters will be the third set of deliveries of the French-origin aircraft to the air force, which has ordered a total of 36 warplanes (equivalent of two squadrons) at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore. “At least three Rafale jets will arrive in India next month. The dates are still being worked out. The planes will be flown to Jamnagar from France without a stopover on the way. Refuelling support will be provided by Indian and French tankers,” the people said. The jets were ordered from France in Septem...

The bilateral ties between India and France have seen a major boost in recent years. Following the landmark Rafale deal, New Delhi is now set to acquire new submarines from the French shipbuilder Naval Group. Representative Image Citing a source, a Nikkei Asia report said that the French shipbuilder will make an offer in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative for a proposal to make P75I class submarines for the Indian Navy. Reportedly, a meeting was held in September between the French Defense Minister Florence Parly and her Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh where the Indo-French defense cooperation was discussed. “One of these is the P75I submarines tender,” said the source cited in the report. According to Harsh V Pant, chief of the Strategic Studies Programme, Observer Research Foundation talking to Nikkei Asia, the deal is expected to be worth a whopping 420 billion rupees ($5.6 billion). The report added that the tender seeks to build six stealth submarines with air-independent ...

‘Erdogan’s support for a boycott of French goods a setback’. Representative image President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s support for a boycott of French goods is a further setback to Turkey’s already stalled bid to join the EU, the European Commission said on Tuesday. “Calls for boycott of products of any member state are contrary to the spirit of these obligations and will take Turkey even further away from the European Union,” a spokesman said. Accession talks Turkey applied to join the then European Economic Community in 1987 and began formal accession negotiations to the European Union in 2005, but the talks are seen as effectively frozen. Protests erupted in several mainly-Muslim countries after President Emmanuel Macron defended a cartoonist’s right to caricature religious leaders in the wake of a French teacher’s murder. History teacher Samuel Paty was killed in the street on October 16 after a social media campaign criticised him for showing students cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed ...

The man in Indian Air Force uniform is Air Commodore Hilal Ahmad Rather, with India's Ambassador to France jawed Ashraf, and Chairman of Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier The first batch of the much-awaited five Rafale fighter jets that took off from France on July 27, 2020. In the moment of euphoria over the arrival of one of world's best fighter jets, Indian social media users were quick to point out the important role played by Hilal Ahmad Rather in the quick delivery of Rafale. Air Commodore Hilal Ahmad Rather is presently India’s Air Attaché to France. Hilal hails from South Kashmir's Anantnag district. He became India's first pilot to see off the batch of Rafale jets from France to India on July 27. Reports suggest that he played a crucial part in early delivery of the Rafales, and was previously associated with the weaponisation of the Rafale jets according to the Indian requirements. Hilal was commissioned in Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot on December 17, 19...

India is currently planning a fleet of nuclear powered submarines. But unlike other nuclear navies, India will not go all-nuclear . Instead they they will be complemented by 6 locally-built Kalvari Class conventionally powered boats and 6 of a follow-on Project-75I type. These conventional diesel-electric boats will be an important pillar of India’s submarine capability. India currently has three class of non-nuclear submarine. The newest are the first two Kalvari class; 6 will join the feet over time. | Photo source: Forbes The Kalvari Class are an Indian Navy specific version of the French Scorpène design. Currently 2 are in service, 2 more are on trials and 2 are under construction. Together with the Project-75I type they will replace the ageing Shishumar class (German Type-209) and Sindhughosh class (Russian Kilo) . The main capability jump for Project-75I will be Air Independent Power (AIP). This will allow the submarines to remain submerged for longer periods. The design of ...

An Indian Navy P-8I Neptune Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) visited Reunion Island to train with the French Air Force and Navy based on the island, known as "FAZSOI". Indian Navy P-8I Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) at Détachement Air 181 La Réunion « Lieutenant Roland Garros » air base.  (Picture : zinfos974.com) FAZSOI stands for armed forces of the southern Indian Ocean area (forces armées de la zone sud de l’océan Indien in French).  According to local media Zinfos974, the P-8I and its crew stay for 5 days on the French island located in the southern Indian Ocean, and flew back to India on March 3. #IndiaNavy #Boeing P-8I Maritime Patrol/ASW spotted landing in #Reunion , possibly part of #India - #France joint naval patrolling in the #IndianOceanRegion in a rare french non-nato military link 📌More by @manupubby on the development in 2019 https://t.co/bxOzmq2MAd pic.twitter.com/3JL7fNjc1a — d-atis☠️ (@detresfa_) March 2, 2020 The visit of the Indian MPA is i...