OREANDA-NEWS The Indian government has signed a contract for the purchase of 26 Rafale naval fighter jets from France, the deal also includes the maintenance of 36 French fighter jets purchased nine years ago. This was reported by Bloomberg with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic.

The contract value is $7.4 billion. Of the 26 aircraft, four are two-seat training aircraft, while the remaining 22 are designed for one pilot.

The new aircraft will be stationed on the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The Indian military department plans to replace the aging fleet of Russian MiG-29-K. New Delhi intends to allocate about $ 100 billion for rearmament, while the country's priority is the purchase of Western weapons.

In recent years, the share of Russian—made weapons in the Indian market has fallen to a minimum level, according to estimates by the Stockholm Institute for Peace Studies (SIPRI) from 72 percent (2010-2014) to 36 percent (2020-2024).

Earlier, the Ministry of Energy proposed to India to conclude an intergovernmental agreement to support coal exports. The Agency expects to mitigate the crisis in the coal industry with the help of export contracts. However, experts do not rule out that New Delhi may impose restrictions on coal imports to support its production.