Why Mirage-2000 fighter jets have been the backbone of IAF

The Rajiv Gandhi government signed a deal to buy 49 Mirage 2000 aircraft in 1984 in response to Pakistan’s buy of the F-16 from the United States.

The multirole aircraft made by French warplane maker Dassault has been the backbone of the IAF and was used for dropping laser-guided bombs on peaks occupied by Pakistani intruders during the Kargil War in 1999.