IAF to get 1st Rafale aircraft delivery in 3 months

ISLAMABAD: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will get delivery of first French made multi-role fighter plane Rafale in three months.

According to the Indian media report, the manufactures will hand over the so-called fifth generation plane to the IAF in September 2019 this year. It would be required to undergo intensive 1,500 hours of testing to validate it for flying with IAF.

The Rafale deal generated political controversy in India and had become hot topic for tug of war between the BJP and Congress. Indian Prime Minister Modi was blamed for corruption in the deal as 36 multirole fighter aircraft for a price estimated at €7.8 billion purchased by Modi government. The demoralised IAF consider acquiring of the Rafale a boost to its strength, but aviation experts dispute the capacity of the Rafale as fifth generation plane while comparing it with the F-16 that is about 30-year-old and its latest version is part of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The F-16 is viewed as plan of fourth generation.