Copyright Breaking Defense
JERUSALEM — Israel and India reaffirmed defense ties on Tuesday, with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance defense, industrial, and technological cooperation. The new MOU, announced by Israel’s Ministry of Defense, is the latest in the developing strategic partnership between the two countries. It came during the annual meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) of Israel and India. Amir Baram, the Israel Ministry of Defense’s Director General, said in a government statement that “our strategic partnership is based on deep mutual trust and shared security interests. We view India as a first-rate strategic partner and are determined to continue deepening cooperation in the fields of defense, technology, and industry.” Outside of those broad descriptions, it’s unclear what may come out of the MOU. However, it’s notable that while visiting, the Indian delegation met with CEOs from Israeli firms, according to the announcement. Although the statement did not specify which CEOs, Israel’s big three defense — Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems —have all done business in India, frequently working with joint ventures as part of the Make in India policy that New Delhi pushes as home. Israeli defense industries have cooperated on air defense, UAS and other systems in deals worth billions of dollars over the last decade. During the meetings with the Israeli industry heads, “innovative and groundbreaking Israeli technologies were presented, along with ideas and projects aimed at deepening industrial-defense partnerships between Israel’s defense industries and India,” per the statement. The ministry further noted that “Israel was represented by senior officials from the Ministry, including the directors of the Political-Military Bureau, the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), the Directorate of Security of the Defense Establishment, and the International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT), alongside representatives from the IDF Planning Directorate and other defense officials. The Indian delegation also included senior representatives from the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces.” One area that may be of interest: On Aug. 15, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of Mission Sudarshan Chakra, a plan to develop an integrated air and missile defense system for India. Israel, of course, has a long and storied history of missile defense systems, and an appetite to export them. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar was not available for the signing of the MOU in Israel — because he was busy travelling to India itself, where he met with his counterpart, India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Sa’ar spoke about the strategic partnership between the countries, and noted how terrorism threatens both countries. He specifically thanks New Delhi for its support over the last two years of conflict in Gaza, following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. “There is already a warm friendship between our countries. Our goal is to build a long-term strategic partnership between the countries,” Sa’ar said. He also spoke about regional partnerships, including I2U2 and IMEC, the first of which includes India, Israel, the UAE and US; and the second of which envisions an India-Midde East Corridor. “We want to promote commonality between South Asia, the Middle East and Europe,” Sa’ar said. The close cooperation with India is part of Israel’s larger outreach to Asia as it seeks to find new markets for its defense goods. Israeli defense companies made a strong push at ADEX in Seoul from October 17-24, with the big three Israeli firms, alongside smaller firms SDC and Ophir Optronics, brought their equipment to the show floor.
