'World’s best combat proven 4.5Gen fighter plane gets the world’s best fighter pilots,' Dhoni on Rafale induction
MS Dhoni, who also holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army, has taken to Twitter to wish the 17 ‘Golden Arrow’ squadrons after Rafale Induction.
The Indian Air Force has formally induct the Rafale aircraft at Air Force Station in Ambala. The aircraft will be part of 17 Squadron, the "Golden Arrows". The first five Indian Air Force Rafale aircraft arrived at Air Force Station, Ambala from France on July 27, 2020. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and French Defence Minister Florence Parly will be the chief guests for the event. On the event of the Rafale jets induction, former India skipper MS Dhoni took to Twitter to congratulate the 17 ‘Golden Squadrons’.
Tweeting from his official social handle, Dhoni, who is an honorary rank holder of Lieutenant Colonel in the territorial army, said, “With the Final Induction Ceremony the world’s best combat proven 4.5Gen fighter plane gets the world’s best fighter pilots. In the hands of our pilots and the mix of different aircrafts with the IAF the potent bird’s lethality will only increase. Wishing The Glorious 17 Squadron(Golden Arrows) all the very best and for all of us hope the Rafale beats the service record of the Mirage 2000 but Su30MKI remains my fav and the boys get new target to dogfight with and wait for BVR engagement till their upgrade to Super Sukhoi.”
Dhoni’s retirement
MS Dhoni shocked the entire cricketing world when he announced on August 15 that he had announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket at 19:29 PM IST. Dhoni will be captaining the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020 as the franchise aims to win the title for the fourth time.
Chennai Super Kings’ preparation have been thrown into disarray due to 13 cases of coronavirus in the staff and two players. However, the franchise is back on track and have been training hard for the last couple of days to make up for the lost time.
Parly will embark on an official visit to India on September 10, where she will attend the induction ceremony of the first batch of the Rafale fighter aircraft by the Indian Air Force at Air Force Station (AFS) Ambala. This will mark Parly's third official visit to India since 2017 and one of her first official trips since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, according to a statement by the French Embassy in New Delhi. During her visit, the French Minister will meet her counterpart Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Their broad-ranging talks will cover, among others, industrial and technological partnership in line with the 'Make in India' programme; operational defence cooperation, particularly maritime security in the Indo-Pacific; modalities of continuing the armed forces' joint exercises in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; counter-terrorism cooperation; and major regional and international strategic issues.