After traveling seven thousand kilometers from France, a fleet of five Rafale aircraft reached India’s land today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed these planes with a slogan of Sanskrit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, ‘Rashtrarakshasampunyaam, RashtrarakshasamVratam, RashtraRakshaSamsamYagyas, Dhrisho nave ch nave ch Nabah: Sprishamdeeptam … Swagatam! ‘It means’ There is no greater virtue than protecting the nation, there is no fast nor there is any sacrifice. Those who touch the sky … Welcome.’

The Indian Air Force also shared photographs of the event on its official Twitter handle. The Air Force wrote in its tweet, Welcome Golden Arrow. Sukhoi welcomed Rafale planes. The fleet of Rafale aircraft has been named ‘Golden Arrow’ by the Air Force.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Air Force on Rafale planes landing at Ambala airbase. He tweeted, “Birds have landed safely in Ambala. The arrival of Rafale fighter jets in India is the beginning of a new era in our military history. These multirole aircraft will revolutionize the capabilities of the Air Force”.

The Rafale deal was made keeping in mind the shortage in combat capabilities of the Air Force. Rafale fighter jets are specially designed for the Indian Air Force. It has features such as helmet-mounted sites, radar warning receivers, flight data recorders, infrared search and track systems, jammers, cold engines for operation from high altitude targets keeping in mind Indian conditions.