CLAIM
A social media post is going viral claiming that a Rafale jet is going to be shown for the first time on Republic Day as part of the 26 January parade.
The message in a photo reads, "On 26 January's parade, the Rafale will be shown(.) First time, an aircraft will fly in front of the eye of Gandhi family without any commission."
TRUE OR FALSE?
No, the Rafale jet is not going to be flying in the Republic Day Parade this year. The Indian Air Force posted a video on their Twitter handle of all the aircraft that "will be doing a display flypast over Rajpath" on 26 January.
The following aircraft will fly will fly from Rashtrapati Bhawan to India Gate.
- Ensign
- Rudra
- Hercules
- Sutlej
- Globe
- Netra
- Jaguar
- Fulcrum
- Sukhoi
- Flanker
First Rafale to Arrive in September 2019
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Parliament on 4 January that India will get its first Rafale fighter aircraft from France in September, as reported by NDTV.
The delivery of 36 jets have been advanced by five months, she said.
Sitharaman said, "The inter-government agreement was signed in September 2016, and the first aircraft will be delivered in September 2019 and the last in 2022."
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