India to ink 36 Rafale fighter jets deal with France today

India will sign the much-awaited Rafale deal today with France for 36 Rafale fighter jets. The aircraft will equipped with latest missiles and weapon system. The deal will be signed in New Delhi in the the presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian, who arrives yesterday.

The 7.87 billion euro deal is crucial for the Indian Air Force and is expected to give India the dominant status in the air. The features that make the Rafale a



strategic weapon is its Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Meteor air-to-air missile with a range in excess of 150 kilometre. During the Kargil war, India had used a BVR having 50 kilometre range.

According to PTI, the deal comes with a saving of nearly 750 million Euros than the one struck during the previous UPA government, which was scrapped by the Narendra Modi government. The delivery of this aircraft will start in 36 months and will be completed in 66 months from the date the contract is inked.