Posted on 08/30/2007 9:37:17 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Govt ignores Left protest on Indo-Israel ties
31 Aug 2007, 0101 hrs IST, Rajat Pandit,TNN
NEW DELHI: Since 2000, India has bought military hardware and software worth $7 billion from Israel. The Left may demand severance of defence ties with the Jewish state but the already robust relationship is all set to expand even further.
India's fresh shopping list and joint projects with Israel, accessed by TOI, shows a staggering agenda of military cooperation, ranging from miniature UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and PGMs (precision-guided munitions) to a wide array of sophisticated missiles and avionics packages.
India has already become Israel's largest defence customer, with purchases worth $1.5 billion in 2006 alone. And now, Tel Aviv is poised to grab a major chunk of the whopping $30 billion that New Delhi will spend on defence purchases over the next five years.
Even as preparations are afoot for a visit by Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak in September-October, here is a rundown on projects under discussion: Missile systems: The showpiece under this is the Rs 10,000-crore joint project to develop an advanced Barak medium-range surface-to-air missile system for IAF and Army. This comes after 14 Barak-I anti-missile defence systems were bought for Navy, at around Rs 130 crore apiece, after the 1999 Kargil conflict.
There is more to follow.
After buying Python air-to-air missiles and Crystal Maze PGMs for IAF fighters, India is now on course for Derby air-to-air missiles, Delilah-II air-launched cruise missiles and Gabriel-III sea-skimming anti-ship missiles for both IAF and Navy.
For the Army, after the Lahat laser-homing attack missile, the Spike multi-purpose anti-tank guided missile is on the cards. The Army will also get SpyDer quick-reaction anti-aircraft missile systems after IAF's Rs 1,800-crore contract for 18 such air defence systems.
Then, of course, the two sides are discussing spin-offs from the Israeli Arrow-II ballistic missile defence (BMD) system. India has already imported two Israeli Green Pine radars, which can detect and track hostile missiles from 500 km away, to use them in the development of its own BMD system.
UAVs: Having inducted over 60 Israeli Searcher-II, Heron and other UAVs since Kargil, the armed forces are now looking for some more spy drones.
Apart from providing technical help to the Indian UAV programmes, Israel is also discussing the sale of 'Skylite-B' micro-UAVs for Indian special forces. "Combat" UAVs, which can launch missiles, too, figure in the long-term plans.
Special forces: Apart from contracts for Tavor-21 5.56 mm assault rifles and Galil sniper rifles, valued around $20 million, India is now looking at Desert Eagle/Jericho handguns, Micro-Uzi machine pistols and Negev 5.56 mm light machine guns for its elite special forces.
Radars: Israel is providing India with potent "eyes in the skies" to detect enemy air intrusions. Under the $1.1-billion AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) project, for instance, India will begin inducting three Israeli "Phalcons" from mid-2008 onwards. Similarly, IAF 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 two such radars inducted in 2004-2005 under a $145-million deal.
Aircraft upgrades and avionics: After assisting the $626-million upgrade of 125 MiG-21 'Bisons', Israel will now be involved in upgrades of Mirage-2000 and MiG-29 fighters as well as TU-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft and Mi-17 helicopters. Israel is already providing 'litening pods', used for precision-targeting with laser-guided bombs, for Jaguars and Mirage-2000s, as also the avionics package for the new Sukhoi-30MKI jets.
Israel is also part of the Rs 476-crore upgrade of 14 naval Sea Harrier jump-jets, with missiles and EL/M-2032 multi-mode fire-control radars. The glass-cockpit kits for 'Dhruv' advanced light helicopters are also coming from Israel. Incidentally, the gigantic Rs 42,000-crore project to procure 126 fighters for IAF, the global tender for which was floated on August 28, will also have an Israeli imprint in terms of avionics.
To add to all this, Israel is also involved in the Army's artillery modernisation programme, F-INSAS (future infantry soldier as a system) project and the upgrade of its T-72 tank fleet.
rajat.pandit@timesgroup.com
Not that I want it to occur but Indian Arjun tanks with the LAHAT will own Chinese and Pakistani Tanks with ChiCom Reflex missiles.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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Highly unlikely to be Python-3s.Those are obsolete now.It’s probably the Python-4 or Python-5,which is part of the SPYDER SAM system.
The Reflecks is Russian/Ukranian.
Amazing that such a small country can crank out this much war material. The place is an arsenal.
2 billion in US aid goes a long way for their headstart on many systems.
Not much of a choice. They've been on a war footing nearly 60 years.
Not bad to have a base in the Middle East. Hating Jews keeps their minds off of us.
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