Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 28: A Kashmiri Air Force officer, Hilal Ahmad Rather who is commonly known as Hally and is presently India’s Air Attache to France has weaponized the Rafale fighter jets in France as per conditions suitable for India.
The Air Commodore Rather hails from the Bakshiabad area of Anantnag district in Kashmir and studied in Sainik School. He is a graduate from Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) and also from the Air War College in the USA, where he passed with academic distinction.
The IAF officer received Vayu Sena Medal, given for devotion to duty, when he was a Wing Commander in 2010 and Vishisht Seva Medal when he was a Group Captain in 2016. He has also won the Sword of Honour in NDA. He was commissioned on December 17, 1988, in the IAF fighter stream.
He has completed more than 3,000 hours of accident-free flying on MiG 21s, Mirage-2000, and Kiran aircraft. The IAF officer is a Fighter Combat Leader and a qualified Flying Instructor. A devout Muslim, he used to fly fighter jets during his fasting in the Holy month of Ramadhan.
Air Commodore Rather has served as a Directing Staff at DSSC as well. He has commanded a Mirage-2000 Squadron and also a front-line Air Force Base.
The five Rafale jets are the first batch of the 36 supersonic omnirole combat aircraft that India is buying from France. Till now, 12 IAF fighter pilots have completed their training on the Rafale fighter jets in France and a few more are in the advanced phase of their training.
According to the contract between India and France, the two countries a total of 36 IAF pilots are to be trained on the Rafale combat jets by French aviators. While most of the IAF pilots will be trained in France, some of them will undergo the exercise in India.
Rafale is capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA’s Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile and SCALP air-to-ground cruise missile will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets.
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