Indo - Isreal Defense Corporation

[Nihat]

New heights: India, Israel step up defence ties
Rajat Pandit | TNN

New Delhi: It seems there are simply no full-stops in the Indo-Israeli strategic partnership despite geopolitical sensitivities as well as allegations of kickbacks in defence deals. All set to further ramp up the already expansive defence ties, a top Indian delegation will leave for Israel on Sunday to discuss joint R&D projects, missile defence, procurements, intelligencesharing and counter-terrorism strategies, said sources.

Led by defence secretary Vijay Singh, the Indian delegation will hold talks with the Israeli side under the joint working group on defence cooperation from November 10 to 12. The Indian side will be represented by IAF deputy chief Air Marshal N A K Browne, Army deputy chief (planning and systems) M S Dadwal, Navy assistant chief (policy and plans) Rear Admiral Girish Luthra and DRDO chief controller Prahlada, among others. During the talks, India will also seek Israel’s assurance that there will be no further delay in the delivery schedule of the much-awaited three Israeli Phalcon AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) to IAF. As per the revised timeframe, the first AWACS, initially slated to be delivered in November 2007 under the $1.1 billion deal signed in March 2004, is to be delivered in February 2009, with the second and third ones coming in September 2009 and April 2010. The robust defence engagement between the two countries, which saw India buy military hardware and software from Israel worth around $8 billion since the 1999 Kargil conflict, has continued despite Delhi’s foreign policy sensitivity to the Muslim Middle-East. The only difference has been that while the previous NDA regime had brought the relationship out of the closet, the UPA government has pushed it back in, eager to keep it away from prying eyes.

There is, of course, also the shadow of the CBI probe into the kickbacks in the Rs 1,160-crore Barak-I deal hanging over the relationship, with Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael being named in the case. The defence ministry, on its part, has decided that since the Barak-I case is under CBI investigation, the final clearance for a new project or deal involving the two Israeli firms will be taken from the Cabinet Committee on Security and the ‘‘competent financial authority’’ before it is actually inked.

The ongoing joint DRDO-IAI project to develop a supersonic 70-kmrange Barak-2 missile defence system at a cost of Rs 2,606 crore for Navy, for instance, has not been rolled back.

The UPA government has also cleared the mammoth Rs 10,000 crore project with Israel to develop a newgeneration surface-to-air missile system, capable of detecting and destroying hostile aircraft and spy drones at a range of 120-km, to boost IAF’s air defence capabilities. Under this, IAF plans to induct nine air defence squadrons initially.

Then, of course, India is on course to buy 18 low-level quick-reaction missile systems SpyDer systems for around Rs 1,800 crore, and four more EL/M-2083 Aerostat radars for around Rs 145 crore in the near future.

Well , thats an awful lot of Money at stake but the worrying thing is how growing ties with Israel and US will be seen in Mid east where we have had fairly stable relationships.

 

[Vinod2070]

Why should that be an issue for Middle Eastern country. This relationship is obviously not directed at them.

The whole Western world has a relationship with Israel, many Arab and Muslim countries have it too, almost the whole world except some Arab and other countries have relations with Israel.

There is nothing that ME countries have to do about it.

And India still does support the right of Palestinians to have an independent country of their own.

 

[nitesh]

so 4 more phalcoms on the way

http://arabia.ndtv.com/Story.aspx?pageheader=news

India negotiating $1.5 bn defence deal with Israel: Report

India is negotiating a deal with Israel to purchase four intelligence and early warning planes at a cost of USD 1.5 billion, a media report said on Monday.

Indian Defence Secretary Vijay Singh is leading a delegation to Israel this week to discuss the purchase of the planes and missiles from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), daily Ha'aretz reported.

The Indian delegation will also discuss cooperation with Israel on intelligence matters and in the war on terror, sources close to the Israeli defense industries reportedly told the daily.

Earlier, India had bought Phalcon AWACS plane radars from IAI for $1.1 billion, a deal that has been delayed but likely to come through by early 2010.

Negotiations over the new deal is said to have started a few months ago.

India has also made other big deals with Israel recently involving a $640 million sea-to-sea missile project and a $260 million purchase of anti-aircraft missiles.

The Indian delegation includes senior officials from the Defense Ministry, high ranking officers from the army and air force, as well as officials involved in military research and
development, the report said.

A source close to the IAI told the daily that the first Phalcon AWACS will be delivered to India in the next few weeks.

The delay stems from problems discovered during test flights, which have since been corrected.

The visit comes in the shadow of an investigation being carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)into alleged kickbacks in previous deals between the two countries, including those with IAI and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.