India finally lands Rafale jet deal after 20 years, says Parrikar

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will buy 36 Rafale jets from France in fly-away condition soon, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday said that the country has finally broken the ice over the deal which had been pending for the last 17 years. The deal struck with France will bring some relief to the Indian Air Force into which they will be inducted within two years, Parrikar said. The minister said Rafale is the fourth generation aircraft which will add up to the old generation fighter planes like MiG21, MiG27 and Su30 which are currently with India.He said the purchase of 36 aircraft is for filling in the immediate gap.