Moscow: Taking their strategic partnership to space, India and Russia are set to enter into an agreement to jointly launch 18 navigation satellites to restore, develop and commercialise the ex-Soviet global navigation system GLONASS, a top Russian space official said.

The Indo-Russian GLONASS global navigation system - an alternative to the Pentagon-controlled Global Positioning System, will have the accuracy of one metre resolution and would have civilian as well as military applications, Chief of Russian Federal Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) Gen Anatoly N Perminov said in Moscow ahead of President Vladimir Putin's India visit on December 3-5.

"Given the level of mutual trust and confidence between the two nations, India will be Russia's only foreign partner in GLONASS, and an agreement is ready for signing during President Putin's visit," Gen Perminov said.

Earlier, Russian media had reported China's willingness to finance GLONASS.

"The GLONASS project is a very important agreement, a breakthrough in bilateral space cooperation. Russia has incomplete system as instead of 24 satellites on orbit, we now have only 11, while India has no such system," Gen Perminov said.

According to him, the project involves launching of Russian satellites from Indian launch pads onboard Indian rockets and vice-versa, setting up of ground control systems in both countries and its global marketing.