The remarks come amid claims by Indian opposition leaders about major corruption in the $8.7 billion deal for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) that was signed in 2016 and that Prime Minister Modi claimed left the IAF in the lurch during confrontation with Pakistan in late February.

India’s former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal AY Tipnis has suggested that the possible use of Rafale fighters could help the Indian Air Force (IAF) destroy at least half of Pakistani warplanes during last month’s dogfight between the two sides.

“The aim of the 24 Pakistan jets was to attack Srinagar, Awantipora base. If India had Rafale at that time, IAF would have destroyed at least 12 of them. Rafale will boost the morale of IAF”, AY Tipnis told a New Delhi security summit on Wednesday. READ MORE: India Reveals How its Su-30 'Defeated' F-16's Missile in Dogfight With Pakistan He referred to the February 27 air battle that erupted between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of a 14 February suicide attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy killing at least 40 soldiers. During the dogfight, the IAF downed a Pakistan Air Force F-16 fighter jet but lost its MiG-21 Bison warplane.
AY Tipnis’s remarks come as New Delhi locks horns with the  opposition over alleged corruption in the $8.7 billion deal for the purchase of 36 fighter jet for the Indian Air Force that was signed in government-to-government negotiations in 2016.

Earlier this week, the Indian government claimed that the leaking of documents pertaining to the Rafale deal, published by the newspaper The Hindu, not only breached terms of the agreement with the vendor but also compromised national security. READ MORE: 'Pause is One of the Positive Outcomes in India-Pakistan Tensions' – Analyst The government alleged that the documents attached in review petition by the plaintiff and subsequently accessed and published by media outlets, including The Hindu, carried sensitive information, including related to the aircraft's combat capability.
Earlier, the court gave the government a certificate of exoneration in response to several petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into the purchase of the Rafale jets, alleging that the contract was awarded to Dassault Aviation in exchange of agreeing to award the offset contracts to certain industry players allegedly favoured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. READ MORE: Aerial Clash With Pakistan Has Exposed Chinks in India's Armour — Editor

The Dassault Rafale fighter jet ©
AFP 2018 / MIGUEL MEDINA Indian Court Handed 'Secret' Docs on Rafale Deal, Says They're Stolen - Govt.
The developments came after Modi accused the opposition of delaying the induction of Rafale fighters into the IAF creating unnecessary controversy over the deal, while opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said it was Modi who had delayed the induction for the benefit of his businessmen friends.
The accusation followed Modi's claims that the National Congress party’s opposition to the 36-aircraft deal with France had led to a delay in delivery of the Rafale jets that left the IAF in the lurch during confrontation with Pakistan over the Indian air strikes on alleged Jaish-e Mohammad camps in Balakot in February.Source: sputniknews.com