The Aerospace Industry of Israel has successfully carved out its niche in high-technology, specialised inventories and skills and counter-terrorism management. This has become the basis of a mutually beneficial relationship wherein Israel has emerged as a major defence supplier for India, with the latter having emerged as the largest market for Israel’s arms exports. Indian Air Force, as also the Indian Armed Forces, and the Aerospace Industry of Israel have developed a versatile defence and security partnership, with a growing focus on joint development and production going forward.

For India, the credibility of Israel as a reliable defence partner was reinforced during the Kargil War of 1999 when it supplied the Indian Air Force (IAF) with the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) ‘Searcher’ and surveillance systems for the Jaguar and Mirage squadrons. Israel was also instrumental in integrating the Phalcon Radar on the IL-76 platform, giving India its first Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) platform. Following this, Israel assisted in upgrading India’s ageing MiG fighters and supplying small arms. India sought material and technical support in specialised avionics, airborne radars, electronic warfare equipment, Surface-to-air Missiles (SAMs), and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Gradually, this cooperation expanded to various other areas such as avionics, missiles and anti-missiles, radars and surveillance.

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS)

In 2018, a collaborative effort between Israeli high technology company Elbit Systems and Adani Defence in Hyderabad initiated the manufacturing of Hermes drones. This is the first Israeli venture outside its territory for producing the Hermes 900 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (Male) UAV. Another collaboration between Elbit Systems and Alpha Design Technologies, associated with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), focused on developments in the electronic warfare and electro-optics sectors. The Israeli Heron, a Male UAV, primarily employed for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance, was ordered by India in 2009. The order for 16 Heron UAVs was delivered in 2012-13, and in 2016, India approved a multi-million dollar plan to acquire the Heron TP-XP variant.

In February 2019, New Delhi was in discussions to buy the Heron-1 long-endurance reconnaissance UAVs from IAI of Israel. Another UAV, the Searcher, is a multi-mission tactical UAV used for surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery adjustment, and damage assessment. Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as part of a strategic partnership with India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Dynamatic Technologies Limited for its ‘Make-in-India’ UAVs. Additionally, an agreement was signed between HAL and Elbit Systems for the joint development of a Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) rotary UAV of the 2,000-kg class.

SENSORS AND OTHER EQUIPMENT

India acquired numerous sensors from Israel for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) purposes for its naval aircraft and vessels. These include the EL/M-series radars developed and produced by Elta Systems with IAI. The radars are primarily utilised for ground surveillance, versatile air search operations, and fire control radars. The EL/M-2221 STGR, a fire control radar, played a crucial role in the development of INS Kolkata, INS Shivalik, and Kamorta class frigates, consistent with deploying the Barak-8 SAM missiles. Another important sensor, the EL/M-2032, a multi-mode aerial fire control radar, was imported from IAI in 2016-18 for use in the indigenously produced Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk-I. The AWACS EL/M-2075 Phalcon, considered India’s first ‘eyes in the skies’ technique for its air force, was inducted in 2009, and two more were ordered in 2020.

India and Israel are also cooperating in developing various targeting and ISR systems. The Indian Air Force procured the Litening 2 and Litening 4 advanced targeting pods from Israel, which are installed on the Mirage 2000s, Su-30s, Jaguars, and LCA Mk 1As. This system is also compatible with India’s newest acquisitions, the Rafale fighters. Additionally, the Indian Air Force acquired software-defined radios from Rafael (Israel) for network-centric operations.

A JV was signed in February 2020 between Israeli Company UVision and India’s Aditya Precitech to manufacture the Hero PALM (Precision Attack Loitering Munition), capable of multi-domain operations.The Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Israeli Directorate of Defence Research and Development entered into a bilateral agreement to endorse the development of technologies for both military and commercial usage. As part of this agreement, Indian and Israeli start-up companies will collaborate on technologies such as small UAVs and artificial intelligence. HAL and Elbit Systems signed an agreement for digital headup displays.

GUIDED BOMBS AND MISSILES

The combat squadrons of the Indian Air Force are supported by Israeli guided bombs, namely the SPICE 2000 and Griffin. The SPICE guidance kits advance general missile warheads into deadly automated precision strike bombs. These can be adapted to diverse aircraft and strike at a 60 km range. In 2019, Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft were equipped with SPICE 2000 bombs during the Balakot air strikes. The IAF procured 100 SPICE kits from Israel in 2008-09 and signed another multimillion dollar deal in June 2019 to acquire another consignment of SPICE 2000 bombs.

Developed by IAI, the Griffin utilises the laser-guided element, especially in the case of combat aircraft, to conduct highprecision strikes against ground targets. It can take numerous courses to counter the air defence system of the adversary and can also be launched from ground-based platforms. Loitering munition drones integrate the features of UAVs, and one such drone in use by the Indian Air Force is the Harop, also known as the suicide drone. The Harop is an electro-optically guided weapon system suitable for striking down moving targets.

Israel has supported India in its Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) and space satellite programs. DRDO of India and IAI of Israel jointly developed the Barak-8 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MR-SAM) air defence system, driven by an indigenously developed rocket motor and control system for high manoeuvrability in the terminal phase. Various Indian and Israeli companies, including Rafael, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited, and Larsen & Toubro, are involved in this project. BEL and IAI recently inked an MoU for co-operation in addressing India’s requirements in the domain of Short Range Air Defence Systems. Both the companies are already engaged in several joint programmes for the Indian Defence forces.

“By collaborating with HAL and bringing MMTT conversion directly to India, we are supporting the important ‘Make in India’ campaign”
— Boaz Levy, IAI President and CEO

The Beyond-Visual-Range-Air-Air Missile (BVRAAM) arsenal of the Indian Air Force comprises Rafael-produced missiles Python-5 and Derby. The Python-5 is a full-sphere infrared air-toair missile that can be fired in all directions and at certain angles. It is a dualuse missile system, fired from ground platforms, with exclusive lock-on after launch (LOAL) and lock-on before launch (LOBL) features. The Python-5 is compatible with various types of aircraft in the Indian Air Force’s fleet, making it a versatile asset. Supported by the Derby, an active radar air-to-air missile, both were delivered to India in 2017, with 150 Derby missiles becoming a significant component of India’s air defence system.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

India, Israel defence ties would now develop into a deeper alliance, with Israeli firms being encouraged by the Israeli government to set up joint ventures with Indian private or public sector companies. In a move aimed at bolstering the ‘Make in India’ campaign, HAL has entered into an MoU with IAI to convert Civil (Passenger) aircraft to Multi Mission Tanker Transport (MMTT) aircraft in India. The move will provide Indian Air Force with new capabilities and cost effective solutions in the market. In addition to MMTT modification, the MOU also includes commercial passenger-to-freighter conversions. Speaking on the occasion, Boaz Levy, IAI President and CEO said, “We are proud to come together with our counterparts to bring our best-value MMTT solution to India, while utilizing the local resources to manufacture and market the platform. By collaborating with HAL and bringing MMTT conversion directly to India, we are supporting the important ‘Make in India’ campaign. IAI has over a dozen customers worldwide for its MMTT, and partnering with HAL will open the Indian market to the converted platform.”

This new dimension to bilateral defence relations will give an economic relevance to bilateral strategic ties with private and public sector companies collaborating together for setting up Israeli production facilities in India.The partnership between India and Israel Aerospace industry plays a crucial role in India’s future security by providing the latest technology and innovations to the Indian Air Force and the other Armed Forces, and the success of the ‘Make in India’ initiative for defence production. This will give a huge boost to Indian and Israeli defence cooperation and prove the point that Israel is India’s true defence partner, a relationship which is based on mutual trust.