Israel, favoured destination for defence imports

By Atul Aneja

JERUSALEM, JULY 1. Israel has become a favoured destination for hi-tech imports in the areas of surveillance, communications and night warfare. Indian military planners now have an open mind on trying out either the Israeli Phalcon, which has been developed for China, or a totally new system which allows the mounting of the Israeli airborne radar on a new western origin plane.

The IAF though enjoying close ties with Israel has not been fully satisfied with the trials of the A-50, Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) offered by Russia.

The Navy at the moment is actively debating a big order for anti- ship missiles. The Israelis have been campaigning for an order for its Barak missiles. India could acquire six or seven pieces of this equipment at an estimated cost of Rs. 100 crores each. Critics, however, question the logic of acquiring these missiles at a whopping cost of Rs. 700 crores. According to them, the Barak's capability to shoot down missiles which are travelling at supersonic speeds is questionable. These limitations may, in the long-term, become costly as China's Soveramany class ships are being equipped with supersonic missiles. Pakistan too is likely to acquire supersonic missiles for its new submarines. The Israeli offer for Searcher-II for the Navy has also become a topic of heated internal debate. The navy, according to experts, is looking for UAVs which can take off from and land on its ships. In doing so they, enhance the surveillance reach of the naval fleet dramatically. However, none of the UAVs offered by Israeli has this capability. On the contrary, the Canadians have developed a ship-based Bombardier which may better suit the navy's requirements.

Sources point out that India is yet to engage Israel in the joint development of equipment. This, if carried out, will strengthen India's hi-tech base and the existing strategic relationship between the two countries. Besides, the institutional framework between the two defence establishments could do with a revamp. Unlike with the U.S., France and Russia, separate ties among the Defence Ministry officials, the three services and the technical experts are yet to be operationalised. Unless this is done, decisions which have long-term security implications may become ad hoc for want of sufficient debate.

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Section  : International
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