France's Bastille Day parade: IAF's Rafale jets to take part, PM Modi will be guest of honour

Three Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will take part in the flypast over the Champs Elysees, Paris along with other French Air assets in July, the release revealed. News agencies also mentioned that a tri-services contingent is also set to participate in the parade along with their French counterparts.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the Guest of Honour at the celebrations.

India and France confirmed in May that PM Modi will join French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris for France's Bastille Day military parade on July 14, the two countries said in a joint statement Friday.

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Macron's Elysee Palace office had said that Modi's presence and the participation of Indian forces in the parade would mark "a new phase in the strategic partnership between France and India".

It added that the two nations would "set new objectives for strategic, cultural, scientific, academic and economic cooperation, including in a large number of industrial sectors".

India's Ministry of External Affairs had also confirmed that Modi will attend the Bastille Day Parade as the guest of honour. It said, "The prime minister's visit is expected to herald the next phase in the India-France strategic partnership by setting new and ambitious goals for our strategic, cultural, scientific, academic, economic cooperation, including in a wide range of industries."

Bastille Day is the national day of France, which is marked annually on July 14. It is formally called the Fête nationale française and legally it is known as le 14 juillet. Celebrations are held across the nation on the day observed as the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille in 1789 — a major event of the French Revolution. It is also a day to remember the unity of the French people.

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Rafale jets in India

French-made Rafale jets are a crucial part of the Indian forces. New Delhi procured 36 jets from Paris under an inter-governmental framework and the Rafale jets are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

When it comes to specifications, Rafale is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. The Rafale jets are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons.

The official website of Dassault Aviation mentioned that the Rafale participates in permanent "Quick Reaction Alert" (QRA) / air-defence / air policing missions, nuclear deterrence duties, power projection and deployments for external missions, deep strike missions, air support for ground forces, reconnaissance missions, and pilot training sorties.

In August last year, a French Air and Space Force contingent, including three Rafale jets, made a strategically crucial stopover at the IAF's Sulur base in Tamil Nadu as part of a mega military operation it carried out in the Pacific Ocean.

(With inputs from agencies)

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