One of the pilots of Rafale hails from Gurugram

Gallery

MORE...

Sports

Hockey India names Amir Ali-led 20-man team for Junior Asia Cup

Hockey India on Monday announced the 20-member squad for the Men's Junior Asia Cup, a qual

Harmanpreet Singh named FIH Player of the Year, PR Sreejesh gets best goalkeeper award

World Boxing medallist Gaurav Bidhuri to flag off 'Delhi Against Drugs' movement on Nov 17

U23 World Wrestling Championship: Chirag Chikkara wins gold as India end campaign with nine medals

FIFA president Infantino confirms at least 9 African teams for the 2026 World Cup

Hockey, cricket, wrestling, badminton, squash axed from 2026 CWG in Glasgow

MORE...

One of the pilots of Rafale hails from Gurugram

Last Updated : 29 Jul 2020 10:19:48 PM IST

Rafale fighter jet

One of the pilots of the first batch of five Rafale fighter jets which touched down in Ambala on Wednesday, belongs to Gurugram in Haryana.

Rohit Kataria, a native of Basai village in Gurugram, flew one of the jets from France to India.

His grandfather Narayan Singh said that it was an emotional moment for him and the entire family, when Rohit Kataria was selected as one of the Rafale pilots.

"We had waited for this historic moment when such advanced fighter jets appeared in the air around Ambala airbase and landed there. It was a moment of pride for us," Singh said.

Rohit studied in the Army school in Karnal before joining the National Defence Academy. He was later commissioned as a flight lieutenant in the Indian Air Force.

On April 10, 2015, an Indo-French joint statement for the acquisition of 36 Rafale jets in flyaway condition through an inter-governmental agreement was issued.

A controversy erupted when the first deal for 126 jets was cancelled by the current NDA government and a deal for 36 jets in flyaway condition was finalized with the French government.

The opposition parties had smelt a scam in the deal and it became a poll issue in the 2019 general elections.

Rafale has the capacity to carry atomic warheads and defence experts believe that the technology used in manufacturing this jet is much better than the F16 jets owned by neighbouring Pakistan and the Chinese J 20 fighter jets.