New Delhi: As a mark of recognition to former Chief of Air Chief (CAS) Air Chief Marshal (Retd) BS Dhanoa who had firmly supported the Rafale deal, the Indian Air Force has decided to put initials ‘BS’ on tail numbers in 30 Rafale jets.

Six Rafale trainer aircraft will carry RB series tail numbers which stand for Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, the current Chief of Air Staff who played a key role as lead negotiator for the mega deal.

The political controversy relating to purchase of 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation for the IAF at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore peaked during Dhanoa’s tenure as CAS and he had stoutly defended the deal.

“All the Rafale fighter jets barring the trainer ones will carry ‘BS’ in the tail number. This is our way of thanking the former IAF Chief for the role he played to get us the jets,” a senior IAF official said.

The Rafale jets will have the most advanced weapons package comprising Meteor and Scalp missiles which will provide the IAF deep strike capability and air dominance in the region.