Rafale fighter aircraft to make debut in Air Force Day parade on October 8

Photo: Twitter@IAF_MCC

Ghaziabad: The Rafale fighter aircraft that was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force's (IAF) famous 17 Squadron, the 'Golden Arrows', at the Ambala airbase in Haryana on September 10, is set to make its Air Force Day parade debut on October 8.

The IAF made the announcement through a post on their official Twitter account. Talking about the aircraft that will be the part of the celebrations, IAF wrote, "The Rafale is a 4.5 generation, twin-engine omnirole, air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship and nuclear deterrence fighter aircraft, equipped with a wide range of weapons." 

#AFDay2020: Rafale – The Rafale is a 4.5 generation, twin-engine omnirole, air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship and nuclear deterrence fighter aircraft, equipped with a wide range of weapons.#KnowTheIAF#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/Zv6VXc17q9 — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 3, 2020

The IAF which was founded on October 8, 1932, will celebrate its 88th anniversary at the Air Force Station Hindan in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh).

Notably, the first five of IAF's Rafale aircraft arrived at Air Force Station in Ambala on July 29, 2020. The aircraft got airborne from Dassault Aviation Facility, Merignac, France on the morning of July 27 and reached India with a planned stopover en-route at Al Dhafra airbase in the UAE.

The ferry was undertaken by IAF pilots and the aircraft covered a distance of nearly 8500 km from France to India. 

The aircraft is a part of 17 Squadron, the 'Golden Arrows', which was resurrected on September 10, 2019. The Squadron was originally raised at Air Force Station in Ambala on October 1, 1951, and in 1955, it was equipped with the first jet fighter, the legendary De Havilland Vampire. 

In August 1957, the Squadron became the first to convert on to a swept-wing fighter, the Hawker Hunter.

"The Rafale aircraft will give India a strategic advantage in case of any aerial combat with China in the mountainous Tibet region as the fleet will be able to use the terrain to its advantage, destroy enemy air defence and incapacitate the surface-to-air missiles," news agency PTI quoted former Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal (retd) BS Dhanoa as saying.

Besides Rafale, Mi-35, SU-30MKI 'Flanker', AH-64E Apache, C-130J 'Super Hercules', and C-17 'Globemaster' will also feature in the 88th-anniversary celebrations. 

#AFDay2020: C-130J “Super Hercules” - The C-130J is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft.
IAF has integrated this machine for Special Ops, HADR missions & air maintenance roles.#KnowTheIAF#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/u3sPdTaQlf — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 3, 2020

#AFDay2020: AH-64E Apache - The Apache is a twin-turbo shaft attack helicopter with a tandem cockpit for two crew & a tail wheel-type landing gear arrangement.#KnowTheIAF#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/S8Y68SckyF — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 3, 2020

#AFDay2020: C-17 “Globemaster” - The C-17 is a high-wing, 4-engine, T-tailed military-transport aircraft, capable of carrying large equipment, supplies & troops both by day & night.

Extended reach and swift response.#KnowTheIAF#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/OHR5ep4sju — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 2, 2020

#AFDay2020: Mi-35 - The Mi-35 is a twin-engine turboshaft, assault, anti-armour helicopter capable of carrying 8 men assault squad with four-barrel 12.7 mm rotary gun in nose barbette and upto 1500 kg of external ordnance including Scorpion anti-tank missiles.#KnowTheIAF pic.twitter.com/bJEtAorqaz — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 2, 2020

#AFDay2020: SU-30MKI “Flanker” - The Su-30MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority, all-weather, long-range fighter aircraft.#KnowTheIAF#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/DTngpQDU0z — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 2, 2020