NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 29
There is no virtue like protecting the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday as welcomed the first batch of five Rafale jets which landed in Ambala with a tweet in Sanskrit.
राष्ट्ररक्षासमं पुण्यं,
राष्ट्ररक्षासमं व्रतम्,
राष्ट्ररक्षासमं यज्ञो,
दृष्टो नैव च नैव च।।
नभः स्पृशं दीप्तम्…
स्वागतम्! #RafaleInIndia pic.twitter.com/lSrNoJYqZO— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 29, 2020
He also shared a brief video of a Rafale fighter aircraft landing at the Ambala Air Force station.
Broadly translated, the prime minister said in his tweet that there is no virtue like protecting the nation, there is no vow like the defence of the nation.
'Golden Arrows' reach home!
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and AOC-in-C WAC Air Marshal B Suresh welcomed the first five IAF Rafales which landed at Air Force Station Ambala earlier today. #IndianAirForce #Rafales@DefenceMinIndia @rajnathsingh pic.twitter.com/P4MDi0FWUs
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 29, 2020
“Swagatam” (welcome), he said with the hashtag “RafaleInIndia”.
The Rafales were escorted by two Sukhoi 30 MKIs after they entered the Indian air space and were given a water salute when they landed in Ambala.
#IndianNavy INS Kolkata Mission Deployed in the Western Arabian Sea Welcomes the #Rafale in IOR. @SpokespersonMoD @indiannavy @BOC_MIB @PIBAhmedabad @airnews_abad @airnewsalerts @DDNewsGujarati @DefenceMinIndia @IAF_MCC pic.twitter.com/vYpmkftPza
— PRO Defence Gujarat (@DefencePRO_Guj) July 29, 2020
The aircraft, having an undisputed track record and considered one of the most potent combat jets globally, landed at the Ambala Air Force base at around 3:10 pm after covering a distance of 7,000 km from the Merignac airbase in French port city of Bordeaux.
“The Birds have landed safely in Ambala,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, adding if anyone should be worried about the Indian Air Force”s new capability, it should be those who want to threaten “our territorial integrity”.
The comment is seen as a veiled message to China.
Singh said that “the touch down of Rafale combat aircraft in India marks the beginning of a new era in our military history. These multirole aircraft will revolutionise the capabilities of the IAF”.
Chief of Air Staff RKS Bhadauria received the Rafale jets at Ambala.
A government statement on Monday said 10 Rafale jets were delivered to India and that five of them are staying back in France for training missions. The delivery of all 36 aircraft will be completed on schedule by the end of 2021, it added.
