India approves budget to buy missiles from Israel

India has approved a 2.5-billion-dollar deal to purchase a surface-to-air missile system from Israel.

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the budget for its army to buy the Medium Range Surface to Air Defense Missile (MR-SAM) system from Israel Aerospace Industries, Indian media reported Thursday.

The Indian Army “will induct over five regiments of the MR-SAM missile, which will have around 40 firing units and over 200 missiles of the system,” wrote India Today, citing government sources.

The system can reportedly target aircraft, drones, and AWACS planes at the strike range of between 50 kilometers to 70 kilometers in the sky.

The first delivery of the missile system is expected in 2023.

The missile system will reportedly jointly developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization in collaboration with the Israel Aircraft Industry.

New Dlehi and Tel Aviv signed an agreement back in February 2015 to jointly develop the missile system for the Indian army.

Israel has been supplying India with military hardware, including missiles, weapons systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles over the last few years.