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Rafale Deal For 36 Fighter Jets Finally Sealed After Long Wait: 10 Facts
India signed a deal to buy 36 high-tech Rafale fighters from France.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves LeDrian signed the contract in Delhi on 23 September 2016 (Friday) after years of tortuous negotiations between the two countries.
India will pay about Rs. 58,000 crore or 7.8 billion Euros for 36 off-the-shelf Dassault Rafale twin-engine fighters. About 15 per cent of this cost is being paid in advance.
India will also get spares and weaponry, including the Meteor missile, considered among the most advanced in the world.
Sources tracking the final negotiations had confirmed to NDTV that the IAF's Rafales will come equipped with the Meteor designed to knock out enemy aircraft and cruise missiles significantly more than 100 km away.
The acquisition of this weapon is likely to be game changer in South Asia. Neither Pakistan nor China, India's traditional military adversaries, possess a weapon of the same class. "Rafale is a potent weapon which will add to the capability of IAF," Defence Minister Mr Parrikar said.
