New Delhi, April 10 -- India's cabinet committee on security, as widely reported on Wednesday, has approved a deal worth Rs.64,000 crore with France to buy 26 of Rafale's marine fighter jets. The agreement is expected to be signed soon and the aircraft are to be delivered by 2030-31, reports indicate.

This government-to-government deal will include weapons, simulators, crew training and logistics support, as also upgrades and equipment for the 36 Rafale jets acquired earlier for India's Air Force.

The aim, clearly, is to give India's maritime strike capabilities a boost and augment its ability to patrol the Indian Ocean region, where Chinese activity has been on the rise. Whether upcoming Indian facilities at Agalega, a pair of Mauritia...