New Delhi : The first batch of 5 fighter aircraft are set to take off from Al Dhafra in UAE at around 11 am IST on Wednesday (July 29) and will land in Ambala at 2 pm to join ‘Golden Arrows’ Squadron of Indian Air Force (IAF). Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria will be present at Ambala Air Force Station in Haryana to receive Rafale fighter jets.
The Rafale jets landed at UAE’s Al Dhafra base after taking off from France on Monday (July 27). These fighter aircraft landed at Al Dhafra base as part of an overnight halt. Al Dhafra base is located about an hour from UAE’s capital city Abu Dhabi.
Former IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa had resurrected the No.17 ‘Golden Arrows’ Squadron at Haryana’s Ambala airbase on September 10, 2019. The Golden Arrows Squadron has been put on Indian Air Force’s active Order of Battle following the resurrection.
“It gives me immense pleasure to handover the Squadron insignia to Commanding Officer Designate Group Captain Harkirat Singh. The Golden Arrows has been an epitome of professional excellence and dedication. The association of Number 17 Squadron with Ambala has been from its very inception when it was formed here in 1951. It has come back to Ambala,” the former IAF Chief had said on the ocassion. He had also inaugurated a Golden Arrows Squadron museum at the air base.
The ‘Golden Arrows’ was raised on October 1, 1951, at Ambala with the Harvard IIB trainer aircraft. Flight Lieutenant DL Springett was the first commnader of the Squadron.
By November 1955, the Squadron got its first jet fighter de Havilland Vampire. Later British Hawker Hunters were part of its fleet and in 1975 the Squadron converted to Russian MiG-21s. ACM Dhanoa had commanded the ‘Golden Arrows’ during the 1999 Kargil War as a Wing Commander. He also flew several sorties to rain bombs over the Pakistani intruders perched on the mountains as part of Operation ‘Safed Sagar’.
The Squadron played an important role in Goa Liberation Campaign in December 1961 and was the reserve force during the India-Pakistan 1965 war. With the IAF retiring MiG-21 variants, the Golden Arrows was number plated (decommissioned) in 2006. But now the squadron will fly the 4++ Generation French Rafale combat aircraft.
It is to be noted that one squadron of Rafales will be based in Ambala to tackle Pakistan and one will be stationed at Hashimara in West Bengal to deal with China.
India signed a deal with France for 36 Rafale jets in early 2016. IAF Rafales will be armed with several state-of-art weapons including the beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air Meteor, short and medium-range air-to-air MICA and precision-guided air-to-ground SCALP missiles.
Security has been tightened near the airbase, located around 200 km from the border with Pakistan, and large gatherings have been banned in four villages nearby. There are also restrictions on people gathering on rooftops and any filming or photography during the landing. A local MLA has urged people to light candles this evening to welcome the jets.
The jets, piloted by IAF officers, took off from Merignac in southwest France and refueled midair on the way. Spectacular visuals posted by the Air Force yesterday showed the jets refueling from a French tanker at a height of 30,000 feet.
The jets made a stopover in Al Dhafra in the UAE, where France has an air base.
They are accompanied by two A330 Phoenix MRTT refueling planes from the French Air Force, one of which is carrying 70 ventilators, 100,000 test kits and a team of 10 health experts to aid in the fight against coronavirus.
Delivery officially started in October last year when the first Rafale jet was handed over to the IAF during a visit to France by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The planes stayed in France for training of the pilots and mechanics.
All the jets are to be delivered by 2022.
The planes are expected to boost India’s air power massively amid tensions with China and Pakistan.
“Our air force pilots tell us that these are extremely swift, nimble, versatile and very deadly aircraft,” said India’s ambassador to France Jawed Ashraf told here.
“This is going to add a great deal of strength to our airpower and defence preparedness but it is also a powerful symbol of our strategic partnership between France and India,” he added.
The fleet, comprising three single seater and two twin seater aircraft, will be inducted into the IAF as part of its No. 17 Squadron, also known as the ”Golden Arrows”, and will be stationed at the Ambala air base, which has been upgraded for the purpose.
The Ambala air base has two squadrons of the Jaguar combat aircraft and one squadron of the MIG-21 Bison. The Mirage fighters that were used for India’s air strike in Balakot in Pakistan last year after the Pulwama terror attack took off from there.
