NEW DELHI: India is set to get the first batch of four to six Rafale fighters, which armed with the Meteor air-to-air missiles and Scalp cruise missiles constitute a formidable weapon system. The batch is expected by the end of July.
India has asked France to speed up the delivery schedule of the 36 Rafales, under the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked in September 2016, amid the ongoing troop confrontation in eastern Ladakh with China.
Sources said the first four to six Rafales flown by IAF pilots, who have been trained in France, are likely to touch down at the Ambala air base on July 27 after a stopover at the Al Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi. The omni-role fighters are likely to undergo mid-air refueling through IL-78 tanker aircraft of IAF during their flight from UAE to India.
The deliveries of the Meteor missiles, which with a strike range of 120 to 150-km can outgun any missile unleashed by Pakistani or Chinese jets, and the over 300-km range Scalp air-to-ground cruise missiles have already begun, said sources.
As per the original delivery schedule, the first four R