NEW DELHI: India on Friday approved a $2.5 billion deal with Israel to develop medium range surface-to-air missiles for the army, The Hindu reported.

The (Indian Rs17,000 crore) deal to build missiles, reported to have a range of 50-70 kilometers, was approved during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi is likely to visit Tel Aviv in June. Five regiments, which consist of 40 units and 200 missiles, are to be developed under the deal. The missile system will be developed jointly by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Israel Aircraft Industries and manufactured in India.

“The system will be based on the older Barak system of Israel, which is in use in India. It is being changed as per requirements,” the Hindu quoted defence sources as saying.