Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to France on 8 October to receive the first aircraft. Dassault will refit the jet with various India-specific modifications including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, low band jammers, infra-red search and tracking systems among others.
The aircraft will be officially inducted into the Indian Air Force on 8 October, but it will arrive in India in May 2020 after being refitted and following the training of Indian pilots and engineers. The twin-engine fighter jets will replace India’s ageing fleet of fighters.
Rafale fighter jets will be deployed to Ambala airbase in Haryana on the western front and Hashimara airbase in West Bengal on the eastern front.
The 7.8 billion-euro Rafale deal for the acquisition of 36 multirole fighter aircraft was signed in 2016 between the Indian and French governments and Dassault Aviation of France.