Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

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 IAF now operate seven Russian IL-76 M refuellers with Pakistan acquiring four of the same refuellers from Ukraine and China operating three of the same Russian refuellers along with 10 vintage modified versions of Russian bombers. According to officials at South Block , while the IAF wanted to get an Airbus 330 MRTT on wet lease from a British company, the French proposal involves selling six 5-7-year-old aircraft to the IAF with a certification of another 30 years of platform life at a much reduced price. The IAF has been eager to acquire an MRTT over the past decade, with the previous request for proposal (RFP) expiring without any results. According to a former Indian Air Force chief who didn’t want to be named, the Airbus 330 MRTT platform has much larger wings of the Airbus 340m as a result of which the aircraft can refuel two fighters mid-air at the same time through drogues (attached to wing pods) or a central refuelling boom system. The best part about the Airbus aircraft...