Vice Chief Air Marshall SB Deo on Wednesday said the Indian Air Force is waiting to fly the “very capable” Rafale aircraft as it will give the country “unprecedented” combat capabilities and an advantage over its regional foes.

“It is a beautiful aircraft... it is a very capable aircraft and we are waiting to fly it,” Deo said at an event in New Delhi.

He refused to comment on the controversy over the deal with France and said that critics should understand the norms and procurement procedure that was followed.

“I shouldn’t comment but I can tell you...because we know a lot about how everything went, we find that people don’t have the information,” ANI quoted him as saying.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a petition seeking a stay on the Rafale deal next week.

Since India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in 2016 to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets, at a cost of Rs 58,000 crore, the opposition Congress has been accusing the Narendra Modi government of getting an overpriced deal. It has also alleged that the government helped a defence firm owned by Anil Ambani with no experience in the sector to land a mega contract under the deal.

The government has refused to reveal the per-plane price that it has negotiated in the deal, citing a secrecy agreement with France.