The Indian Navy placed an order for 26 Rafale multirole fighters with manufacturer Dassault Aviation on Monday. The contract was signed in France, immediately after the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between France and India.

The order is for the naval version of the fighter, the Rafale M (for ‘Marine’, French for Navy). It is designed to operate off aircraft carriers and serves with the French Navy. India is the first export customer for the Rafale M. The country previously bought 36 land-based Rafale C versions for the Indian Air Force (IAF), all of which are now in service.

The press release did not give a value for the deal, but media reports put it at $7.4-billion.

“On behalf of Dassault Aviation and its partners, I would like to thank the Indian authorities, with whom we have been working for more than 70 years, for their confidence in us and reaffirm our unwavering determination to stand by their side to contribute to India’s expression of its sovereign power, its strategic challenges and its ambitious vision of the future,” affirmed Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier.

According to India’s Defence Ministry, the deal includes technology transfer and the integration of Indian weapons on the Rafale. A Rafale fuselage production facility will be established in India, as will maintenance, repair and overall facilities for the aircraft’s sensors and engines.

Dassault stated, in its press release, that it was determined, “through its significant contribution to the ‘Make in India’ policy and the ‘Skill India’ initiative, to make its presence in India a success in the service of Indian interests”.

The Rafale Ms will be operated from the Indian Navy’s flagship, the indigenously designed and built INS Vikrant. (India’s second, older, aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, is a significantly rebuilt ex-Soviet Navy ship, the Admiral Gorshkov. Both carriers have hitherto operated Mikoyan MiG-29K naval fighters from Russia, but these have suffered from low serviceability levels.)

The first Dassault design to be bought by India was the company’s first jet (and first design), the Ouragan (‘Hurricane’). India bought 113 of these, with the initial contract being signed in June 1953. In the IAF, they were named Toofani (‘Typhoon’).