Full dress rehearsal at Hindon airbase: Newly inducted Rafale fly alongside front-line fighter jets

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday conducted a full-dress rehearsal ahead of the 88th IAF day on October 8. Unlike previous years when the force used to have a flypast of different jets with their own squadron, this time it was a mixed display of frontline fighter aircraft, including the newly inducted Rafale jets.

“There was a change in the flypast to make it more interesting and to better showcase the new assets and also to show how the IAF has progressed over the years,” said an IAF officer. “This time, it was mixed, with the theme of ‘innovate, integrate and intimidate’. Since we are talking about innovation and integration, all different types of aircraft were there and working in synergy. This is the capability which few air forces in the world have.”

The French made Rafale was inducted on September 10, at a time when India was facing off at the Ladakh border with China. The initial batch of five aircraft were inducted into IAF’s Ambala-based number 17 squadron, which is also known as ‘Golden Arrows.’