BY : PTI


As part of steps to keep the country's air power capability at optimal level, India has signed a billion-Euro deal to upgrade its 51 Mirage Multi-Role Fighters.

Dassault, the French original equipment manufacturer, has agreed to upgrade the Indian Air Force's Mirage 2000 fleet, Defence Minister A K Antony told Lok Sabha today.

Antony said the Request For Proposal (RFP) had been issued to Dassault on April 9 after clearance of the Cabinet Committee on Security.

IAF is currently flying three squadrons of the Mirage fighters and under new plans, Indian Mirages will be upgraded to the level of French Air Force Mirage 2000-5 with superior avionics and extend their lifespan by another 25 years.

This is the second major upgradation deal signed by India in recent weeks. Earlier, IAF had entered into an agreement with Russia's MIG-RAC for upgradation of 63 MIG-29 air superiority fighters in a deal worth 964 million dollars.

The upgradation of the country's frontline fighters is being taken up by the government against the backdrop of alarming depletion in the IAF's squadron strength which has plunged from 39 fighter squadrons to just 32.