The jets are armed with deadly weapons package, advanced avionics, radars, and electronic warfare systems

The first five out of the 36 Rafale jets, dubbed as “game changers” by the Indian Air Force (IAF), have finally landed in Ambala after a 7,000 km flight from France. The five jets, 3-single seat, and 2-twin seat arrived today in the middle of the ongoing military confrontation with China, said a report by The Times of India.

Welcoming the Rafale jets, Defence minister Rajnath Singh called it the “beginning of a new era in our military history”.

“The Birds have landed safely in Ambala. The touch down of Rafale combat aircraft in India marks the beginning of a new era in our Military History. These multirole aircrafts will revolutionise the capabilities of the @IAF_MCC,” said Rajnath Singh’s tweet quoted in The Times of India report.

The report said that the jets will take time to properly integrate into the warfighting machinery, but once ready, they will outgun and outrun the Pakistani F-16 and JF-17 as well as the Chinese Chengdu J-20 fighters.

The Rafale jets have a combat range of 780-km to 1,650-km depending on the mission, and are armed with deadly weapons package, advanced avionics, radars, and electronic warfare systems, said the report.

Each Rafale can carry two fire-and-forget Scalp cruise missiles to hit high-value fortified targets well over 300-km away, the report added.

The Rafales are armed with ‘Meteor’ air-to-air missiles, which are arguably the best in the world for air combat duels, and gives India an advantage over Pakistan and China who currently don’t have any missiles in this class, The Times of India report said about the Rafale capabilities.

One of these fighter jets can carry up to six Hammers to hit as many targets simultaneously, it said.

Read the complete report in The Times of India