JAKARTA - India late last month signed an agreement to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets worth 630 billion rupees (IDR 122,077,431,000,000) for its navy from France, India's Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
India will buy 22 one-seater fighters and four two-seater fighters, made by France's Dassault Aviation, the ministry said in a deal that would improve the Asian nation's defense ties with the second-largest arms supplier.
"The delivery of the aircraft will be completed by 2030, with its crew undergoing training in France and India," the ministry said, adding the deal is expected to generate thousands of jobs and revenue for large numbers of businesses.
The purchase was approved in early April by India's security cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Reuters reported.
India seeks to modernize its military, reduce its dependence on Russian-made equipment, increase domestic weapons production to supply troops stationed along two disputed borders with Pakistan and China.
The Indian Air Force currently operates 36 Rafale fighter jets, while the naval aircraft fleet consists mostly of Russian MiG-29 jets.
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The Indian Navy has marked China's increasing presence in the Indian Ocean over the past decade, with Beijing operating multi-purpose ships in the region and maintaining a military base in Djibouti since 2017.
It also marks another step in India's long-standing dependence on French military hardware, including Mirage 2000 jets purchased in the 1980s and Scorpene-class submarines ordered in 2005.
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