Rafale participation to Aero India 2011 confirmed

Aero india 2011 web site

According to the well informed Livefist blog, Dassault has confirmed that 2 Rafale M of the french Navy will participate to Aero India 2011 Air Show that will take place in Bangalore between February, 9 and 13.

It is the first time that the Rafale will be presented to the indian public. Indeed, at the last edition of the Indian Air show in 2009, Dassault had only sent a Falcon 7x but no Rafale. An absence which had provoked many critics in the Indian media and led to persistant rumors about a possible elimination of the French fighter from the MMRCA contest. However, these rumors were quickly denied by the Indian authorities, and 2 Rafale of the French air Force flew to Bangalore in September 2009 to performed the MMRCA trials as plan.

In July 2010, the Indian SU-30MKI pilots had the opportunity to confront the Rafale F3 for the first time during Garuda IV in France. Last week (Jan. 7-14), the Indian and French Navies have conducted the bilateral exercise Varuna 2011 involving the Rafale M of the CdG and the Sea harrier of the INS Viraat.