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The first Rafale fighter jet sold in 2016 to India will be delivered this Tuesday at 12:00 on the site of the Dassault Aviation plant in Mérignac, near Bordeaux.
A ceremony is planned in the presence of the Indian Minister of Defense and Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces. 36 Rafale aircraft will be progressively delivered to the Indian Air Force, but Paris and New Delhi could lead to an agreement by mutual agreement for the delivery of 36 other aircraft, which would be manufactured in India.
Bordeaux-Mérignac is not only the place of assembly of the Rafale, it is also the airport platform chosen for the training flights of the Indian pilots. The contract signed between India and France in 2016 stipulates that the 36 hunters, bought on the shelf will be delivered over three years, at a rate of one per month.
The first Indian Rafale delivered this Tuesday will still fly 1,500 hours in France before joining next spring the base of Ambala close to the Pakistani border. Thanks to the Rafale and its Meteor air-to-air missiles, India intends to take the lead over its historical enemy, Pakistan . Nevertheless some aircraft will also be deployed in the north of the country, close to China, the other rival of New Delhi.
The Indian Air Force, which currently has only 30 fighter squadrons, wants to quickly enlarge its fleet and the hypothesis of a new order of Rafale could in the coming months materialize.
The aircraft manufacturer tricolor Dassault has a decisive advantage: the investments related to the specific developments of the Indian Rafale are more to do, it would be felt on the unit price of a new order of 36 aircraft that this time should be assembled in India.