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State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has won an additional, $777 million contract to supply LRSAM air and missile defence systems to seven ships in the Indian navy, the company said on Wednesday.
The contract is with India's state-owned Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), which is the main contractor in the project, IAI said.
The LRSAM, part of the Barak 8 family, is an air and missile defence system used by Israel's navy as well as India's navy, air and land forces.
With this deal, sales of the Barak 8 over the past few years total over $6 billion, IAI said.
A Palestinian was martyred after Israeli soldiers opened fire in the West Bank city of Tubas, local health officials said Wednesday.Twenty-three-year-old Mohammed Basharat died after he was shot in the chest, said the officials.According to eye witnesses, Israeli soldiers used live bullets and tear gas against Palestinians.Officials from Israel and Palestine have not yet issued statements on the incident.Jewish settlers frequently stage attacks on Palestinian towns and farms and their Arab inhabitants across the Israeli-occupied West Bank.According to Palestinian figures, more than 650,000 Jewish settlers currently live on 196 settlements and more than 200 settler “outposts” scattered throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.International law regards the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all settlement-building activity there to be illegal.Palestinian youth gets life behind bars for 2017 attackIsrael dismantles Palestinian school in W. BankIsrael arrests two Palestinian fishermen off Gaza coast
Palestinian martyred by Israeli gunfire in West Bank
"IAI's partnership with India dates many years back and has culminated in joint system development and production," IAI Chief Executive Officer Nimrod Sheffer said. "India is a major market for IAI and we plan to ... reinforce our positioning in India, also in view of increasing competition."
Israel's and India's leaders have pledged to deepen ties and the countries have been increasing cooperation in fields like agriculture and advanced technologies. Israel is also emerging as one of India’s biggest suppliers of weapons, alongside the United States and long-term partner Russia.
Last year, IAI struck a deal worth almost $2 billion to supply India’s army and navy with missile defence systems. This was followed by a $630 million contract with BEL to supply Barak 8 surface-to-air missile systems for four ships in the Indian navy.
The Barak 8 was developed by IAI in collaboration with Israel's Defence Ministry, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, the navies of both countries, Israel's Rafael and local industries in India and Israel.