Indian Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria Talks With French Air Chief

Indian Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria talks with French Air Chief. Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria is on a five-day visit to France since Monday.

Air Chief Marshal Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Tuesday held talks with France Air and Space Force (FASF) chief General Philippe Lavigne and discussed ways to further advance cooperation between the two sides.

The Indian Air Force said that General Lavigne and Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria, during the talks, acknowledged the rapid increase in operational cooperation between the two forces and the cooperation and Discussed ways to move forward.

The Air Force tweeted, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria arrived at Army De Laer Headquarters and met General Philip, and discussed common issues between the Air Forces of the two countries.

The two heads acknowledged the rapidly growing campaign cooperation and discussed increasing mutual relations.

Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria left for France on Monday. Their visit is considered to be important towards increasing mutual cooperation.

It is likely that Air Chief Marshal Bhadoria will flag off a fleet of five-six Rafale aircraft during his visit at the Marine Air Base in Bordeaux, France.

Sources said that Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale aircraft, plans to send six fighter aircraft to India by the end of April. The arrival of a new batch of fighters will help the Air Force deploy the second squadron of Rafale.

Rafale’s second squadron will be stationed at the Hasimara Air Base in Bengal. Rafael’s first squadron was stationed at Ambala Air Force Station.

The Air Force issued a statement saying that Air Chief Marshal Bhadoria would travel to France from April 19-23. This will help in strengthening the level of dialogue between the air forces of the two countries.

Their journey will prove to be an important step towards increasing mutual cooperation. Let us tell you that the General of the French Air and Space Force, General Philippe Levin, visited India in February last year.

India had entered into an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft. The deal was worth about Rs 58,000 crore.

Under this, Dassau Aviation has so far supplied 14 fighter jets to the Air Force. The first consignment of Rafale aircraft came to India on 29 July last year.