MS Dhoni wishes 17 Squadron 'Golden Arrows' the very best after induction of Rafale jets
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Former Indian captain MS Dhoni, who also holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army, took to social media platform Twitter to congratulate the Indian Air Force following the induction ceremony as he wished the 17 Squadron Golden Arrows the very best as he hoped Rafale beats the service record of the Mirage 2000.
Former Indian captain MS Dhoni, who also holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army, on Thursday took to social media platform Twitter to congratulate the Indian Air Force following the induction ceremony as he wished the 17 Squadron 'Golden Arrows' the very best as he hoped Rafale beats the service record of the Mirage 2000. Dhoni even revealed that SU30MKI remains his favourite.
The first batch of five Rafale jets were inducted into the Indian Air Force’s 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’ on Thursday at the Ambala Air Force Station in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Florence Parly, his defence counterpart, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar.
The first five Indian Air Force Rafale aircraft had arrived in Ambala from France on July 27, 2020 before undergoing extensive testing and preparation including series of night sorties.
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Following the 2019 World Cup semifinal loss, Dhoni had trained with the Parachute Regiment for more than a month.
“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,” MS Dhoni tweeted on Thursday.
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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.
— Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) September 10, 2020
“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,” he added.
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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
— Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) September 10, 2020
The 17 Squadron ‘Golden Arrows’ has many firsts to its credit; in 1955 it was equipped with the first jet fighter, the legendary De Havilland Vampire.
Thus far, 10 Rafale jets have been delivered to India.
A traditional 'sarva dharma puja', a ceremonial 'water cannon salute' to the Rafale jets and an aerial display featuring various breathtaking manoeuvres by the aircraft marked their induction into the 17 Squadron of the IAF.
A second batch of four to five Rafale jets are likely to arrive in India by November.