On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain paid tributes to Indian Armed Forces and said that France always stands alongside India.
Putting a picture of Mirage 2000 fighter jet, Lenain wrote: "On #KargilVijayDiwas2020, France pays tribute to the Indian armed forces: France always stands alongside India. #Mirage2000 in 1999 to #Rafale in 2020: our partnership touches soaring heights."
It is worth mentioning that Mirage had played a decisive role in the Kargil war, which was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan held from May to July 1999.
In 1982, India had placed an initial order of 36 single-seater Mirage-2000 and 4 twin-seater Mirage 2000. The fighter jet Mirage was first commissioned in 1985.
Raising a third squadron of the aircraft, the IAF bought ten more Mirage 2000s in 2004. All of the three squadrons are based in its air force base at Gwalior.
The Mirage-2000 is a single-engine delta-wing (triangle shaped) fighter jet and it can carry an impressive 14,000lbs of weapons. Earlier, the fighter jet was seen in action in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghstan, Iraq, Libya etc.
Five Rafale would be arriving in India from France on July 29 and their advanced weaponry including the long-range SCALP and Meteor missiles would have reached India before their touchdown.
With the Rafales arriving in the country in the middle of a dispute with China, the Indian Air Force is further boosting the capabilities of the combat aircraft by equipping it with the HAMMER missiles from France.
( With inputs from ANI )