India issues Letter of Request to France for inking contract for 114 Rafale jets; IAF chief in Paris to advance deal

NEW DELHI: In another big step towards inking the Rafale deal, India has issued the Letter of Request (LoR) to France to finalise the mega defence agreement worth around Rs 3.25 lakh crore for 114 Rafale fighter jets for the IAF. “The Letter of Request was issued last week by the acquisition wing of the defence ministry to French officials,” a source told TOI. LoR is a formal govt-to-govt document used to initiate a defence procurement, often under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program or similar international agreements. Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh reached France…