The arrival of five Rafale combat aircraft here on Wednesday will create history, said Haryana Home Minister l Vij.
"Today, the king of fighter planes will arrive in Ambala. The people are awaiting the arrival of Rafale fighter jets. If there was no COVID19, they would have welcomed the fighters jets with celebrations," Vij told .
He said, "It is a massive achievement from a defence point of view. It is a big umbrella. For our enemies, just the name Rafale is enough to scare them."
A water salute will be given to the five Rafale fighter aircraft after their landing at Ambala airbase in Haryana on Wednesday. The five Rafale combat aircraft will join the Indian Air Force fleet in Ambala on Wednesday.
The last foreign fighters inducted into the Air Force were the Sukhoi-30s from Russia which have now become the mainstay of the Air Force after multiple orders in view of delays in placing orders for new western aircraft.
"As per plans, five Rafale fighters would take off from Al Dhafra airbase in UAE and reach Ambala around 2 pm today," IAF sources said.
Once the aircraft land in Ambala, the pilots led by Group Captain Harkirat Singh would meet the IAF chief and brief him about their flying and training in France.
The pilots will follow the coronavirus-related protocols before starting their operational flying after that. The formal induction ceremony of the aircraft would be held later.
( With inputs from ANI )