India signs deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France Friday Sep 23,2016

India signed a deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France on Friday for close to 7.8 billion euros ($8.7 billion) on Friday Sep 23,2016

The long-awaited deal was inked in Delhi between defence minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian.

The 7.8 billion euro deal is crucial for the Indian Air Force that is grappling with a drawdown of its fighter fleet.

The IAF has 33 fighter squadrons, each consisting of 18 fighter planes. It requires 45 combat units to counter a combined threat from China and Pakistan. The IAF admits it does not have sufficient number of warplanes for a two-front war.

The Rafale aircraft will allow the airforce to strike targets in Pakistani soil even while flying within the Indian airspace.

The Narendra Modi led NDA Government had cleared the deal amid indications that the French government waived off the advance guarantee, allowing India to save 134 million euros.

The Centre had initially planned to purchase 126 fighter planes but later opted for just 36 jets in fly-away condition from France with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the revised deal in Paris last year.

The delivery of the jets will begin in 36 months and will be completed in 66 months from the date the contract is inked.


What is Rafale?
– France launched the Rafale programme as it wanted to deploy an omnirole fighter to replace seven different types of combat aircraft operated by it.
– The twin-engine warplane is capable of carrying out a variety of missions – ground and sea attack, air defence and air superiority, reconnaissance and nuclear strike deterrence.
– India will be the third country to buy the Rafale after Egypt and Qatar. The plane has seen combat in Afghanistan, Libya and Mali.
The Rafale specs
Wing span: 10.90 m
Length: 15.30 m
Height: 5.30 m
Overall empty weight: 10 tons
Max take-off weight: 24.5 tons
External load: 9.5 tons
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft
Why Rafale? 

 
1)India desperately needs to upgrade its ageing Soviet-era fleet plagued by engine troubles and poor availability.
2)The Indian Air Force projected a requirement for medium, multi-role combat aircraft back in 2001 to replace ageing Soviet-era fighter jets in its fleet. India floated a global tender in August 2007 to buy 126 modern combat planes to boost the IAF’s offensive capabilities.
3)Dassault Aviation, which manufactures the Rafale fighters emerged as the frontrunner for the contract in January 2012 over five international rivals. However, the tender stood cancelled when Modi announced India would buy 36 Rafales under a government-to-government deal.
4)India requires 45 fighter squadrons to counter a combined threat from China and Pakistan, but it has only 34 squadrons with about 18 planes each. Also, 14 of these squadrons are equipped with vintage MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighter planes.