IAF shows Rafales re-fuelling mid-air on way home

New Delhi: In photos posted by the Indian Air Force on Twitter, India's first batch of Rafale fighter jets are seen re-fuelling mid-air from a French Air Force tanker before their scheduled stopover at the Al-Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates.

The jets built by Dassault Aviation - and piloted by officers from the Indian Air Force - took off from Merignac in southwest France.

By Wednesday, after a 7,000-km journey with the UAE pit-stop, they should be at the Ambala air base in India, some 200 km from Pakistan and China borders.They are accompanied by two A330 Phoenix MRTT re-fuelling planes from the French Air Force.