The first five of a batch of French Rafale fighter jets touched down at Haryana's Ambala on Wednesday after covering a distance of nearly 7,000 km to join the Indian Air Force fleet. The Rafale contingent established contact with Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata in the Western Arabian Sea soon after taking off from the United Arab Emirates.
Chief of Air Staff RKS Bhadauria was present at the Ambala airbase to receive the Rafale jets, India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in over two decades. Earlier in September 2016, a Rs 59,000-crore deal was signed for 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation.
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