Ready for Balakot-like strikes: RKS Bhadauria

NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force new chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, speaking about the Balakot air strikes, on Monday said that the force was prepared for action, international media reported."We were prepared then (before the Balakot air strikes) and many of the acquisitions were part of the plan but we were able to expedite it and we will be ready for any challenges in the future too, he said."About acquiring Rafale jets, he said it will greatly enhance the capabilities of the Indian Air Force(IAF) and will give it an edge over Pakistan and China, "Rafale is a very capable aircraft, oncewe induct it, it will be a gamechanger in terms of our operational capability and when we use it in combination with SU-30 and other fleets which we have, we would have a serious jump in our capability. It will give us an edge over Pakistan and China," Bhadauria told ANI soon after taking over as the 26th chief of the force. Incidentally, Bhadauria was the chairman of the Indian negotiation team for the Rs60,000 crore (PKR1,334 billion) 36 Rafale combat aircraft deal and played a significant role in getting deal cleared. The Rafale deal signed in 2016 is the biggest ever defence deal signed by India.The first Rafale aircraft to be inducted by defence minister Rajnath Singh in France will also have the tail number RB-01 written on it in recognition of the role played by the officer in it.

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