NEW DELHI – India is to buy 131 surface-to-air missiles from Israel in a $70million deal, the defence ministry announced Tuesday ahead of a visit byIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Barak missiles link> made by RafaelAdvanced Defense Systems are to be used forlink>India link> ‘sfirst aircraft carrier which is under construction.
link>Netanyahulink> will lead a business delegation tolink>India link> ona four day trip expected in mid-January. Israel has become a major defencesupplier to link>Indialink> , selling an average of $1 billion ofmilitary equipment each year.
Last April the two countries signed a military deal worth nearly $2 billionwhich includes the supply over several years of medium-range surface-to-airmissiles link> , launchers andcommunications technology.
It was unclear whether the deal announced Tuesday was part of that.
The Indian defence ministry also said it had approved the purchase of 240bombs from Russia’s JSC Rosonboron Exports for $188 million.
“This procurement will address the deficiency of precision-guided munitionsin the IAF (Indian Air Force) arsenal, besides enhancing the offensivecapabilities of the IAF,” it said in a statement.
link>India link> ,which has longstanding territorial disputes with neighbours China andPakistan, has signed several big-ticket defence deals since Prime MinisterNarendra Modi came to power in 2014.
It has however been moving away from relying on traditional ally Russia formilitary hardware.