Indiainfo-icon is going to buy 131 surface-to-air missiles from Israelinfo-icon in a $70 million deal, Indian defence ministry announced on Tuesday ahead of a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuinfo-icon.

The Barak missiles made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems will be used for India's first aircraft carrier which is under construction.

Netanyahu will lead a businessinfo-icon delegation to India on a four-day trip expected in mid-January. Israel has become a major defence supplier to India, selling an average of $1 billion of military equipment each year.

Last April, the two countries signed a military deal worth nearly $2bn which includes the supply over several years of medium-range surface-to-air missiles, launchers and communications technologyinfo-icon. It was unclear whether the deal announced Tuesday was part of that.

The Indian defence ministry also said it had approved the purchase of 240 bombs from Russiainfo-icon's JSC Rosonboron Exports for $188mn.

"This procurement will address the deficiency of precision-guided munitions in the IAF (Indian Air Force) arsenal, besides enhancing the offensive capabilities of the IAF," it said in a statement.

India, which has longstanding territorial disputes with neighbours Chinainfo-icon and Pakistaninfo-icon, has signed several big-ticket defence deals since PM Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. It has, however, been moving away from relying on traditional ally Russia for military hardware.