New Delhi: India and Israel have agreed to form a joint task unit to formulate a comprehensive 10-year road map to identify new areas in the vast defense cooperation between the two countries.
It was decided at the 15th meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on defense cooperation, chaired by Defense Secretary Ajay Kumar and the Director General of the Israeli Defense Ministry General Amir Eshel (RET), in Tel Aviv on October 27.
During JWG, APEX’s body between the defense ministry of the two countries, a broad discussion was also held on bilateral military cooperation and strategic challenges in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region.
“The two parties reviewed the progress made in military-military involvement, including industrial training and cooperation.
JWG was also informed of the progress made by the sub-work group (SWGS) about the procurement of defense, production and R & D.
It was also decided To form a new SWG on defense industry cooperation, “said an Indian official on Friday.
Israel has been among the top four suppliers – together with us, Russia and France – to India for almost two decades now, with military sales worth around $ 1 billion every year.
The Indian armed forces, for example, are also discribed to the next generation-to-air-to-air-air-to-air air system under three projects with the DrDO-Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) worth more than Rs 30,000 Crore.
India had previously bought a variety of Israeli weapons systems, ranging from Phalcon AWACS (warning systems and controls in the air) and berons, search-II and harop drones for anti-missile barrack defense systems and the spyder’s fast anti-aircraft reaction missile system.
The acquisition also includes Israeli missiles and precision guided ammunition, from Python missiles and air-to-air derby to the labyrinth of the Crystal and Bomb Spice-2000.
Spice-2000 penetration bombs, in fact, used by Mirage-2000 India fighters to bomb JEM facilities in Balakot in Pakistan in February last year.