How powerful are Saudi Arabia's F-15 fighter jets, which welcomed PM Modi's aircraft, they are special because...
In a unique and special gesture shown by the government of Saudi Arabia, the Royal Saudi Air Force has given a unique honor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the special gesture, PM Modi's aircraft was escorted by F-15 fighter planes of the Royal Saudi Air Force when his special flight entered the airspace of the Gulf nation on Tuesday. Notably, PM Modi is paying a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia. Video shows Saudi jets escorting PM Modi's aircraft
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also released a video of the Saudi jets escorting Modi's aircraft. The gesture is being seen as deepening of defence cooperation between the two countries. The gesture is being seen as a deepening of defence cooperation between the two countries, the report by news agency PTI said.
'Giving further momentum to our long-standing and historic ties. PM @narendramodi lands in the historic port city of Jeddah to a 21-gun salute & ceremonial welcome,' Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X. About Saudi Arabia's F-15 aircraft
The F-15 aircraft is one of the most successful fighter planes in the world and the Saudi Arabian Air Force has 207 F-15E Strike Eagle (F-15SA) and 21 F-15 Eagle aircraft. The F-15 aircraft is twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed for air superiority.
Reports have quoted experts saying that the F-15 fighter aircraft is considered the backbone of the Saudi Arabian Air Force. Notably, the Saudi Arabian Air Force has two variants of the F-15 aircraft, namely the F-15E Strike Eagle (F-15SA) and the F-15 Eagle.
PM Modi and the Crown Prince will co-chair the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, which was established during the prime minister's 2019 visit to strengthen bilateral ties. The prime minister, who received Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour in 2016, described the crown prince as 'my brother'. PM Modi receives warm welcome
Upon his arrival at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Modi was warmly welcomed by Indian community members. Saudi singer Hashim Abbas sang a popular Hindi film song to welcome Modi. Standing in front of Modi, Abbas sang 'Ae watan mere aabad rahe tu' from the Alia Bhat-Vicky Kaushal starrer Raazi. Modi joined in with claps amid loud cheers from the gathering in the hotel's lobby.
(With inputs from agencies)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
United News of India
35 minutes ago
- United News of India
Mayawati urges Centre to protect farmers, small businesses from impact of US tariffs
Lucknow, July 31 (UNI) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has strongly criticized the newly imposed trade tariffs by the United States and urged the Modi government to take decisive steps to safeguard national interests, particularly those of farmers and small businesses. Mayawati expressed serious concern over US President Donald Trump's decision to levy a 25% tariff on Indian exports beginning August 1, alongside "a penalty on oil imports from Russia, both of which she said could have damaging repercussions for the Indian economy". Despite the US being described as a 'friendly' nation, Mayawati emphasized, "Such economic pressures should be met with resilience and transformed into opportunities for central government should honour its assurance that no section, especially small and medium enterprises and the agricultural sector, will be adversely affected." Highlighting India's vast labour force and the need for inclusive development, the BSP leader stressed the need for "effective policies rooted in public welfare and constitutional values that would help India achieve sustainable prosperity under the guiding principle of 'Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya', the welfare and happiness of all." UNI PRI AAB
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
India always supported a negotiated two-state solution: Govt. on Gaza conflict
India has always supported "a negotiated two-state solution" that would see the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within secure and recognised borders, living side by side in peace with Israel, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (July 31, 2025). The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was asked whether India's support for the Palestinian cause has been an "integral part of our foreign policy". Parliament Monsoon session Day 9 LIVE "India's policy towards Palestine has been longstanding. India has always supported a negotiated two-state solution, which would see the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within secure and recognised borders, living side by side in peace with Israel," Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said in a written response to the query. India has "strongly condemned the terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the loss of civilian lives in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict", he said. "India remains concerned at the security situation and has called for a ceasefire, release of all hostages and peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy," Mr. Singh added. The MEA was also asked whether India, on June 12, abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages and unimpeded humanitarian aid. Mr. Singh said India has emphasised the need for safe, timely and sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine. "India has also reiterated that bringing Israel and Palestine closer contributes to creating conditions for early resumption of direct peace negotiations," he said. India has reiterated the above position in various bilateral and multilateral forums, such as the UN, BRICS, NAM and Voice of Global South, the minister said. "In line with the above-stated policy and taking into account the lack of negotiations and overall imbalance of the resolution text, India abstained in the vote on the recent resolution in the UNGA Emergency Special Session on 12.06.2025," he said.
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
India's diplomatic failures aren't just Trump's fault. It's the price of Modi's narcissism
But as recent events have revealed, this is Modi's ' phata poster, nikla zero ' moment. Donald Trump has claimed to have engineered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, 30 times and counting. And our prime minister has failed to directly call him out or even say his name, preferring to ramble on about the choices Jawaharlal Nehru might have made over six decades ago. Political consensus over Operation Sindoor turned into a heated exchange in Parliament because Narendra Modi has turned India's foreign policy into a personal image-building exercise. The 'vishwaguru' media blitz worked for a while. India's G-20 leadership and photo-ops with world leaders were used to claim Modi's grandeur and portray that it is India's great fortune to have him as PM. Observe a familiar pattern. The nation unites after a horrific terror attack. The Opposition takes the national interest seriously, so it offers full support to the government for a strong response. But be it Balakot or Sindoor, immediately after an opaque military action, the BJP switches to election mode, evading all accountability and painting all those who ask questions as unpatriotic. The costs of this narcissism are clear to see. Obsession with the PM's image has led to the Modi government remaining mum on widespread reports of Indian aircraft losses, and even attempting to pin the blame on the Indian Air Force. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan admitted, on 31 May, that India lost aircraft in Operation Sindoor but ascribed these to a 'tactical mistake'. Ten days later, India's Defence Attache to Indonesia, Captain Shiv Kumar, attributed the aircraft losses squarely to 'the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defences'. In other words, not only were Indian pilots sent into battle exposed to enemy air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, they were also prevented from firing back because of political constraints. The diplomatic failure is equally glaring. For all the 'energetic' engagement and multi-party delegations going around the world, there was surprisingly weak international endorsement of India's military actions. Most countries called for 'mutual de-escalation', in effect hyphenating India and Pakistan. Also read: Geopolitical forces beyond New Delhi's control are at play in Trump's approach to India Trump's agenda The icing on the cake was when the country whose civilians were murdered in cold blood had to watch the presumed sponsor of the terror attack, 'Field Marshal' Asim Munir, having lunch with President Trump in the White House. In Trump's words, the agenda of the lunch was to 'thank him for not going into the war [with India]' and 'ending the war' and that he 'was honoured to meet him today.' Compare this with what Barack Obama said in his 2010 address to India's parliament: 'We will continue to insist to Pakistan's leaders that terrorist safe-havens within their borders are unacceptable, and that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks be brought to justice.' Howdy Modi? And now the US has announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports from 1 August, while its talks with Pakistan continue. A trade deal may still emerge in the coming days, but Trump's hard negotiating stance is clearly targeting India. Not to forget how the US announced sanctions on six Indian firms for trading Iranian petrochemicals yesterday, the same time as Trump announced a deal for a US firm to develop Pakistani oil reserves. It just isn't cricket. This is a gigantic setback to Indian foreign policy under Modi, and cannot be pinned on Trump's unpredictability alone. When you personalise foreign policy and prioritise image-building, you hand your partners and adversaries a tool with which to manipulate you. This ranges from superficial public gestures that play well on PR photos to sweetheart deals for favoured Modi cronies. The Modi government first put all its eggs into the US basket when the unipolar moment was clearly over. It subsequently overcorrected, accommodating an aggressive China by ceding buffer zones in eastern Ladakh and agreeing to Chinese concurrence for Indian patrols that earlier had free access to various patrolling points. Meanwhile, China gave full support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, giving it 'live inputs' on Indian operations, and turning India into a testing ground for network-centric warfare and new weapons systems. It has restricted critical exports to India and made moves into the northeast through the world's largest hydropower project on the Brahmaputra. To put it bluntly, Nehru's nonalignment sought investment and aid from both the US and the USSR. Modi's nonalignment has accepted economic and political penalties from both the US and China. Amitabh Dubey is a Congress member. He tweets @dubeyamitabh. Views are personal. (Edited by Theres Sudeep)
