Israeli and Indian Firms Seal Massive Deal to Produce Air Defense Systems

BDS this! An Israeli firm has signed another international massive decade-long deal that will benefit thousands, if not millions, of people.  

Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and India’s Reliance Defense on Tuesday announced that they have agreed to establish a joint venture to produce air defense systems.

The agreement, which is valued at more than $10 billion for the next decade, will produce air-to-air missiles, air defense systems, and observation balloons. Reliance will hold a majority stake in the joint venture at 51 percent, while Rafael will hold 49 percent, as per the current guidelines of the Government of India.

Rafael Director-General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yoav Har-Even said that the joint venture is “part of our global strategy for cooperation in general and in India specifically.”

“This cooperation will help us give the Indian Ministry of Defense its added value when it comes to deal with the goals and challenges that it faces,” said Har-Even, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Rafael has already provided large aerostat systems to the Indian Air Force for meeting its surveillance, reconnaissance, communication and intelligence needs.

In a statement, Reliance Defence said the deal was one of the biggest joint ventures between an Indian Company with any original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

The joint venture company will be located at Pithampur, Indore in the state of Madhya Pradesh and will generate more than 3000 jobs in India.

Israel and India have significantly advanced relations and cooperation between the two countries, and this collaboration is manifest in the ties Israel’s Air Force (IAF) has forged with the Indian air force.

The countries have also been working on bilateral military deals and projects, collectively worth around $3 billion, ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to the Jewish State later this year.

By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff