India begins in-country Rafale training

“This marks the end of the training of the third batch pilots and all our maintenance crew. The Rafale training centre has provided world class training and because of this training and quality of training, we were able to operationalise the aircraft fully,” observed Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria.

The initial training programme in France gave the Indian Air Force a cadre of personnel for the first two squadrons, but training in India has now recommenced to meet the ongoing need for replacement personnel, and to prepare the current pilots and groundcrew to fly and operate the forthcoming new standard of Rafale, following its planned upgrade.

A package of India-Specific Enhancements has been developed for the IAF Rafale, including an improved satellite communication compatibility, new low band jammers and new stand-off weapons capabilities, which are intended to allow the Rafale to defeat enemy air defences and strike targets in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Dassault Aviation has already delivered 30 Rafale fighter jets to India, and three more were due to arrive in India on December 7-8.

The final three are due to arrive by April 2022 under the five-year inter-governmental agreement, but will actually be delivered in January 2022. The final aircraft, two-seater RB008 has been equipped with all of the India Specific Enhancements agreed in the 2016 contract, and it will serve as the prototype for the upgrade, which will be embodied at the Air Force Station Ambala which is also the home of the first IAF Rafale unit, No.17 Squadron 'Golden Arrows', which formally stood up on 10 September 2020. The second unit, No. 101 Squadron ‘Falcons of the Chhamb and Akhno’, was established at Air Force Station Hashimara (16 Wing or ‘Lethal 16’) in Eastern Air Command (EAC) on 28 July 2021.