Rajnath speaks to Israeli counterpart, invites firms to India

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday spoke to new Israeli defence minister Yaov Gallant and in the course of discussion invited the Israeli military industry to forge partnership with Indian firms for setting up joint venture companies in critical technologies.

Admiring the Jewish state’s vibrant defence manufacturing ecosystem, Singh told his Israeli counterpart that Israeli industries were welcome
to deepen their investments in joint ventures with Indian companies with an aim to identify areas for collaboration, particularly in niche technologies.

This was the first conversation between the two ministers after Gallant became the minister for defence over two months ago.

The Israel minister conveyed his government’s keen interest in enhancing the strategic partnership between the two nations.

The two ministers affirmed their commitment to further deepening of bilateral defence relationship under the framework of ‘Vision Statement’ adopted last year, said a defence ministry spokesperson.

India and Israel elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel in July 2017. Since then, the two countries have further cemented their strategic partnership, with a focus on innovation and research.

New Delhi and Tel Aviv have long-standing relations strategic affairs with Israel emerging as one of India’s key military suppliers. The two nations have also completed 30 years of diplomatic relations.

Underlining government’s priority for indigenisation and domestic manufacturing of defence equipment, Singh said he was present at the signing of an important MoU between Indian and Israeli companies at the recent Aero-India 2023.

While the Defence Ministry didn’t identify the event, the state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited had signed a MoU with Israel Aerospace Industries for domestic manufacture and supply of long-range artillery (LORA) weapon systems for all the three services.

The state-of-the-art strategic weapon system weapon will be manufactured by BEL, as the prime contractor, based on the workshare arrangement with IAI. LORA is a sea-to-ground and ground-to-ground system which comprises a long-range ballistic missile, a unique launcher, a command and control system, and a ground/marine support system.

LORA is a sea-to-ground and ground-to-ground system which comprises a long-range ballistic missile, a unique launcher, a command and control system, and a ground/marine support system. The LORA system provides ballistic assault capabilities for multiple ranges with a precision level of 10 meters CEP (circular error probability, which marks the accuracy of a weapon).