India secretly transferred to a military airbase Ambala in Haryana in the North, located about 400 kilometers from the border with China, the fourth-generation fighters Rafale, obtained in the framework of the contract with France. On Wednesday, July 29, reports The Independent.
The first 5 of the 36 ordered from France aircraft arrived in India in complete secrecy. So, in four areas near the base, was temporarily introduced restrictive measures prohibiting local residents to gather in large groups. In addition, the police and military blocked the road near the airbase. It was also strictly forbidden to make photo and video. It is expected that the remaining fighters, the French side will give the Indian until the end of 2021.
According to The Independent, the resulting aircraft will be part of reviving the 17th squadron of the air force of India “Golden arrows”, which in the past took part in significant military conflicts, in particular in the so-called Kargil war of 1999, border armed conflict between India and Pakistan. “Golden arrows” was disbanded in 2016, after the Indian army had to write off part of its composition of the old MiG-21 Soviet production. Now new Delhi hopes to seriously strengthen its force in case of full-scale war with China. According to preliminary estimates, the Indian side to confront Beijing will need 42 squadrons, each of which will include 18 to 24 fighters. Thus at this point, a country has a total of 31 squadron, consisting mainly of outdated Soviet aircraft.
On 26 June it became known that India plans to urgently purchase Russian MiG-29 and su-30MKI, as well as systems of air defense (ad) s-400 due to the deterioration of relations with China and Pakistan. As noted above, Indian leaders hope that the Russian weapons will be deprived of the chance of the enemy in case of aggression to achieve air superiority. It was also reported that both sides were again deployed troops on the border.
Jun 23, India and China agreed to take measures to reduce tension at the disputed border area in Ladakh. It happened after 16 June in the area dozens of soldiers of Indian army died during the clashes. In new Delhi believe that this happened as a result of efforts of the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo. In addition, the Indian media reported 43 victims and the victims are Chinese.
