Big Boost For IAF: India Prepares LoR To Buy More 114 Rafale Jets From France

New Delhi: India is set to buy more Rafale fighter jets from France. In a major boost to the Indian Air Force, the Letter of Request (LoR) for acquiring 114 Rafale fighter jets is ready and will be soon sent to France. After France acknowledges the LoR. India will then prepare the Request for Proposal for the acquisition of the fighter jets. An LoR is an official communication exchanged between governments to begin defence procurement through the Foreign Military Sales or Intergovernmental Agreement framework. It specifies the required capabilities, quantity, and technical specifications of the equipment being requested. As per the process, once the Request for Proposal is confirmed, a Cost Negotiation Committee will be formed. In the end the proposal

will be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which is the highest decision-making body of the country on issues related to security and defence, policy and appointments. The CCS is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The final approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is mandatory before the signing of the contract.The LoR is formalised almost three months after a proposal to acquire 114 Rafale fighter jets from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation got an approval from the Defence Procurement Board chaired by Defence Secretary RK Singh.The proposal was then placed before the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Out of the 114 fighter jets that India will procure, 90 will be manufactured in India. The manufacturing will be done in India jointly by Dassault Aviation and India's private manufacturer.The IAF currently operates 36 Rafale jets. Meanwhile, the Indian Navy is also set to receive separately 26 Rafale M aircraft for carrier operations.The move to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets is aimed at reducing the shortage of fighter jets. At present, the IAF is reportedly operating 29 fighter squadrons, against the sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ccrru1pADY

For the unversed, Rafale jets actively took part in India's Operation Sindoor against terror camps operating in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in May last year.About Rafale Jets:The Rafale Jet is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. The Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, and in-depth strike. It is a 4.5-generation aircraft.