New Delhi: Taking another major step towards signing the Rafale deal, India has issued a Letter of Request (LoR) to France to finalize the mega defense deal worth around Rs 3.25 lakh crore for 114 Rafale fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force.“The letter of request was issued to French authorities last week by the acquisition branch of the Defense Ministry,” a source said. times of India. LOR is a formal government-to-government document used to initiate defense procurement, often under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program or similar international agreements.Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh arrived in France on Monday and during his 4-day visit, he is likely to talk about the proposed agreement and visit the French facilities of Dassault Aviation where the fighter planes will be manufactured. After the Air Force chief, PM Modi is expected to visit France in mid-June and the Rafale deal is expected to figure in his discussions with the French leadership.It is expected that the French side will respond to India’s LOR or tender in the next 2 to 3 months. The final contract, which is expected by the end of this year, will be signed after final price negotiations and approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security.Under the proposed deal, 90 to 94 Rafale jets will be manufactured in India by French manufacturer Dassault Aviation in partnership with an Indian company under the Make in India initiative and the rest will be delivered in fly-away condition.Apart from the deal for 114 Rafale jets, the Navy is separately purchasing 26 Rafale maritime aircraft from Dassault for carrier operations, the agreement for which was signed on April 28 last year. The IAF is already operating 36 Rafales received under a September 2016 inter-governmental agreement.India’s Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme, under which 114 fighter jets will be procured, aims to address the critical capability gap in the Indian Air Force and check the declining strength of its fighter squadrons, which have shrunk from the ideal 42.5 squadrons to a worrying 29, which are required to effectively deal with the two-front security threat from Pakistan and China.The Defense Acquisition Council had approved the Indian Air Force’s proposal to purchase 114 Rafale jets four months ago. As part of the deal, it will be the first time that Rafale aircraft will be manufactured outside France with about 50% localisation.