Ambala, October 1

The Indian Air Force has initiated major infrastructure upgrade at its frontline base here for deployment of the first squadron of the Rafale jets, which will give India greater ‘potency’ over Pakistan as these will be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and other missiles.The government has already sanctioned Rs 220 crore to set up 14 shelters, hangers and maintenance facilities at the 78-year-old base for the Rafale jets whose delivery is scheduled to begin from September 2019, a senior IAF official said.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The Ambala base is considered one of the most strategically located bases of the IAF as the India-Pakistan border is around 220 km from it. Currently, the base has two squadrons of the Jaguar combat aircraft and one squadron of the MiG-21 Bison.Several teams from French defence major Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale, have already visited the Ambala Air Force base and finalised the requirement for the first squadron of combat jets. The IAF is also carrying out infrastructure upgrade at its Hasimara base in West Bengal, which will house the second squadron of the Rafale jets, the official said. The Ambala as well as Hasimara stations will also have simulator-based training facilities for the air crew of Rafale jets. The IAF has already selected a batch of pilots to fly the jets and they are being given training by Dassault Aviation in France.The Rafale squadron to be deployed in Ambala will be known as Golden Arrows which was originally based in Bathinda and was disbanded two years ago.The Rafale combat jets will come with various India-specific modifications, including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, low band jammers, 10-hour flight data recording and infra-red search and tracking systems among others.The features that make the Rafale a strategic weapon in the hands of Air Force, which is currently down to 34 squadrons as against a sanctioned strength of 44, includes its Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Meteor air-to-air missile with a range of 150 km. Its integration on the Rafale jets will mean the Air Force can hit targets inside both Pakistan and across the northern and eastern borders while staying within India’s territorial boundary. — PTI

Strategically vital air force facility

• Ambala base is 220 km from Pakistan border and, thus, strategically most important
• Rafale jets can carry nuclear arms, which gives India greater ‘potency’ over Pakistan
• The delivery of the fighter jets is scheduled to begin from September 2019
• Hasimara base in West Bengal will house the second squadron of the Rafale jets