India, France ink deal for 36 Rafale Jet planes

India and France on 23 September 2016 inked the 7.8-billion Euro deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets. 
•    As per the deal, the aircraft will be equipped with latest missiles and weapon system like Meteor and Scalp.
•    The 7.8 billion Euro deal is crucial for the Indian Air Force and is expected to give India the dominant status in the air. 
•    The deal was signed in New Delhi by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian.
•    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. 
•    The delivery of this aircraft will start in 36 months and will be completed in 66 months from the date the contract is inked.
•    As per reports, 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.