The state of Israel came into being in 1948 and India recognised it in 1950, but diplomatic relations were not established due to India’s non-aligned and pro-Arab policy. However, in 1992, India formally established diplomatic relations with Israel and since then has signed a number of agreements on economic, scientific, agricultural and cultural matters. Both the countries share a strong economic, military and strategic relationship. India shares some common strategic and security threats with Israel and its desire to get closer to the US has also helped in moving the ties forward. Three mutual strategic interests that have enhanced defence and security ties include the fight against terrorism and radical Islam, concerns over proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and long-range missile technology, and the growing interest of the two states in the Indian Ocean. India’s condemnation of Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories has not affected the relationship. India is also the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment and second to the Russian Federation in being India’s supplier of defence equipment. The defence business has already crossed $9 billon ( Rs. 45,000 crore) and is growing. The defence relations extend beyond the supply of weaponry to training, research in military technology and space. India is also Israel’s second largest trade partner in Asia amounting to $4.7 billion ( Rs. 23,500 crore) in bilateral trade excluding military sales. Israel from its existence has recognised the need for good intelligence and has established Mossad for foreign operations, Shin Bet for internal security and Aman for military intelligence. India needs effective and actionable intelligence as it faces both internal and external problems of Islamic fundamentalists and from other organisations like the Naxalites and United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). Thus India’s intelligence agencies can get valuable lessons and inputs from Israel.

Israel’s Military Industrial Complex

Arms sales form the backbone of the Israeli economy. There are nearly 150 defence firms in Israel with combined revenues estimated at $3.5 billion ( Rs. 17,500 crore). Israel has strived to develop its Military Industrial Complex due to security compulsions as they are surrounded largely by a hostile environment. It has also helped in their becoming self-reliant, carry out import substitution and gradually becoming the fourth largest exporter of defence equipment after the US, Russia and France. Israel has acquired expertise in small arms, ammunition, communications , force multipliers, remotely piloted vehicles, electronic warfare and related systems, night vision devices; naval equipment ranging from command and control systems, missiles and anti-missile systems to a variety of patrol boats. They have also acquired expertise in the upgradation of weapons platforms especially with respect to optronics and avionics. One major advantage is that their systems are battle proven and work well in desert environment.

Indo-Israel Defence Cooperation

Arms sales and defence cooperation formed the major pillar of India’s ties with Israel since diplomatic relations were established in 1992. It has been continuously expanding and today it forms the core of the Indo-Israeli relationship. The relationship started as a buyer-supplier with Israel selling weapon systems and technologies to India. The relationship has now matured into joint ventures for development of weapon systems and technologies. This has signaled a new phase in the military relationship resulting in greater trust and synergy between the defence establishments of the two countries. Cooperation in intelligence and counterterrorism has also further strengthened bilateral military ties, especially after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s 2003 visit to India. Israel gets considerable resources to finance the development of new weapons systems and technologies and the country’s limited domestic market required Israeli defence industries to generate revenues through export of military products. With its large domestic market and growing defence budget, India is an extremely attractive partner for Israel. In the bargain, India also has a reliable partner ready to assist India in developing advanced defence technologies on its route to becoming self-reliant.

Even before the establishment of diplomatic relations, India had imported 160mm mortars from Israel. The list of equipment imported so far is very impressive starting with Green Pine radar, which is part of ballistic missile defence (BMD) and on India’s wish list. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working hard to develop a BMD system by adopting technologies developed for Prithvi and Agni. It has provided kits for up-gunning 130 guns into 155mm with a barrel length of 45 calibre which will also increase the range to 40 km. Both Searcher and Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being used by all the wings of the defence forces. The Special Forces are looking for small armed UAVs for counterinsurgency. They are already using special weapons and sensors of Israeli origin. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is acquiring Spyder SAM system and three Phalcon airborne warning and control system (AWACS) are already in service. The IAF has taken up a case for two more Phalcon AWACS. It also wants to procure four more EL/M-2083 aerostat radars, mounted on blimp-like balloons tethered to ground, as a follow-on order to the radars inducted earlier. Israel is already providing to the IAF litening pods to be used for precision-targeting with laser-guided bombs. The Indian Navy is already using Barak SAM on-board their ships. Upgrade of Mi-17 has been carried out by Israel and the upgradation of some naval aircraft has also been taken up by Israel. Upgradation of Army’s air defence systems like Shilka and 23mm Twin gun are also going on. Further, Israel’s TecSAR radar satellite was launched by India on January 22, 2008. It is an Israeli spy satellite, primarily meant to monitor Iran’s military activities.

Indo-Israeli Naval Cooperation

Super Dvora
In 1997, India purchased Ramta two Super Dvora Mark II attack boats from IAI and got the licence to build the remaining at Goa Shipyard in collaboration with Ramta. A total of seven are in service. The Super Dvora Mark II is a high-speed class of patrol boats meant for a variety of naval missions from typical offshore coastal patrol mission profiles to high-speed, high-manoeuvre littoral warfare. Super Dvora Mark III is the latest generation of the Dvora family of fast patrol boats or fast attack crafts (FPB/FAC), manufactured by IAI Ramta and are capable of speeding up to 50 knots (93 km/h) in littoral waters. They could also be used by the Coast Guard.

Barak SAM System
Barak-1: Barak surface-to-air missile (SAM) system is designed to replace or complement gun-based close-in weapon systems such as the Phalanx gun system. The concept being that the aerial threat is engaged at successive ranges with guns and missiles. The missiles are mounted in an eight cell container and are vertically launched. The radar system provides 360 degree coverage and the missiles can take down an incoming missile at a dead zone of 500 metres away from the ship. Lack of an effective anti-missile defence (AMD) system with the Indian Naval ships emerged after the Kargil operations. This operational gap was known earlier but prompted by the Kargil crisis. The Government of India approved the procurement of Barak I system for $300 million ( Rs. 1,500 crore). Barak’s quick response time, effectiveness against incoming missile attack and its compact size made it an effective AMD system. However, its short-range of about 10 km is a limitation and thus it was an interim solution.

Barak-Next Generation (NG): To fill the gap between Barak-1 and the beyond visual range (BVR) air threat, during 2006, India and Israel signed a joint agreement for the development of a new Barak-NG medium ship borne air defense missile with a projected range of about 70 km. Barak-NG is being evolved from Barak-1 system. Barak-NG or Barak-8 is also being called medium-range surface-to-air missile (MR SAM) when the scope of the project was enlarged in 2007 to meet the requirements of the Indian Army and the IAF. The DRDO is the prime developer for India with the Israel Aerospace Industries as the key partner to contribute most of the applicable technology, just as Russia did for the BrahMos. The project is reported to have a financial outlay of $300 million ( Rs. 1,500 crore) for the design and development phase which is being shared equally between both the countries. The Indian Navy plans to mount only medium-long-range SAMs on future warships as short-range systems can only provide point defence to a ship but does not provide layered defence or fleet defence. Such a system is very much required for a blue water navy and a logical complement to India’s carrier force. When Barak-NG/MR-SAM projects fructify, they will provide India with the latest missile technology, an effective SAM system and bring India and Israel closer. It will also help the Israelis build a new system that meets some of their own emerging requirements. It may well turn out as the largest joint defence development project ever undertaken between India and any other country. A couple of tests have already been undertaken. There is also a report of the development of a ground based long-range SAM of 120 km range.

UAVs

Searcher and Heron: The Indian Navy has acquired SearcherMk2 and Heron Mk2 UAVs for carrying out maritime surveillance and they also contribute to coastal intelligence. Israel Aerospace Industries’ Searcher is reconnaissance UAV for gathering intelligence. It has a maximum speed of about 200 kmph, altitude ceiling of 6100 m and endurance of 18 hours. Heron is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV developed by the Malat (UAV) division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is capable of medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours’ duration at up to 35,000 feet. It has demonstrated 52 hours of continuous flight, but the effective operational maximal flight duration is less, due to payload and flight profile.