IAF chief to visit France today

Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa will travel to Paris on Monday to take forward the bilateral military cooperation with France, one of India’s key suppliers of military hardware, which includes the Rafale combat jets.

During his four-day tour (July17-20), the air Chief Marshal will fly a sortie in the Rafale fighter aircraft that India purchased from the France for the IAF, said an IAF spokesperson.

The Rs 59,000 crore (7.87 billion Euro) deal with France to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets was signed in September 2016 and the first aircraft is expected by September 2019. He would interact with representatives of military aviation industry in France and visit the Indian Rafale PMT Infrastructure, created to ensure timely delivery of these aircraft to the IAF.