Introduction:
In 1992, India and Israel established full diplomatic ties, and the two nations’ bilateral relationship has since bloomed on economic, military, agricultural, and political levels. Both nations perceive themselves as isolated democracies endangered by neighbors that train, finance, and promote terrorism, hence their cooperative relationship is viewed as a strategic requirement by both. The relations were not always cordial. Despite the fact that both countries gained independence from the United Kingdom within months of each other, they have been heading in opposite directions for nearly four decades – India as a leader in the Non-Aligned Movement with close ties to the Arab world and the Soviet Union, and Israel with close ties to the United States and Western Europe.
Both countries have reaped enormous benefits since establishing diplomatic ties. India has become one of Israel’s most important commercial partners, and many of the world’s best high-tech businesses are forming joint ventures in Israel and India that are effectively competing in the global market. Security-related transactions and help in sectors like agriculture and water desalination are now the mainstays of trade and collaboration between the two countries. The key to developing India-Israel ties, though, is security and defense cooperation. The Indian army announced its desire to execute a modernization program in the early 2000s, allocating tens of billions of dollars to the project. Since then, defense sales with Israel have increased at an exponential rate, and India is now Israel’s top export destination.
To give you an idea of how much commerce between Israel and India has grown, overall trade between the two countries was $200 million in 1992 and $4.13 billion in 2016. Without diamonds, Israel shipped $1.15 billion worth of commodities to India in 2016, accounting for 2.5 per cent of the country’s overall exports.
During Modi’s visit to the US in 2017, the two nations inked a number of collaboration agreements. The Israel Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organization have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote collaboration in the development of electric propulsion systems for tiny satellites and the development of equipment to precisely monitor the severe conditions of space. Officials from Israel and India have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the India-Israel Innovation Initiative Fund (I4F). Over a five-year period, each of the two countries has pledged $4 million to I4F. Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries are among the Indian companies that inked eight trade agreements with Israeli enterprises. During Modi’s trip to Israel, the Asher Space Research Institute at the Technion and the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology inked a collaboration agreement. The goal of this agreement is to set up cooperative study and research initiatives.
The defence front:
In July 2020, both nations inked a cyber security pact in the age of fast digitalisation and increased exposure to the risks of the virtual world. As a first step, India and Israel are working together to establish secure systems and services to defend their civilian and strategic assets from ever-increasing cyber-attacks. It’s a key sign of the Indian government’s faith in Tel Aviv to collaborate on defensive technologies as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative.
The Indian Air Force recently introduced a medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) system capable of destroying aerial threats such as enemy fighter planes, missiles, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The MRSAM, or Barak 8 air defence system, was developed jointly by India and Israel and comprises modern radar, command and control systems, and mobile launchers. For maximum manoeuvrability in the terminal phase, the missile is propelled by a locally built rocket motor and control system.
Israel Aerospace Industries and the Defense Research and Development Organization collaborated to create the system (DRDO). Rafael, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited, and Larsen & Toubro are among the other companies collaborating on the project.
Over the previous four years, India and Israel have signed separate deals totalling roughly $3 billion for upgraded surface-to-air missile systems for the three services. Last year, India was compelled to speed up the procurement of military gear from various nations, including Israel, due to the continuous border confrontation with China in Ladakh, authorities claimed. As a result of a 2017 order worth $2 billion for advanced systems to take down hostile aircraft and missiles, India is sourcing Firefly loitering ammunition, Spike anti-tank guided missiles, Spice guidance kits that can be mounted on standard bombs to convert them into smart weapons, and an operational surface-to-air missile system from Israel.
Conclusion:
Even while the three-decade-old India–Israel defence alliance is expected to deepen and solidify in the coming years, India’s quest for defence self-reliance will have an influence on the relationship’s size. India has significant modernization demands, as well as the need to adequately address rising security concerns on both the internal and foreign fronts. For India’s security strategists, the all-encompassing Pakistan–China defence cooperation, which provides Islamabad with advanced weaponry and platforms, is just too significant to ignore. India’s defence partnership with Israel is also being looked at as a way to boost the country’s defence exports. BEL, for example, has indicated interest in forming a partnership with the IAI in order to increase the DPSU’s export profile. HAL partnered with IAI to market the Advanced Light Helicopter back in 2003. (ALH). It’ll be interesting to watch how BEL and the IAI go forward with this. The IAI has a well-established worldwide profile and marketing skills, which may be studied and learned from by Indian DPSUs and private sector enterprises.
A greater range of non-traditional fields, such as information and cybersecurity, water conservation, education, health, and research, are supporting ‘India-Israel 2.0.’ The strategic partnership’s elevation of connections aims to strengthen this nascent collaboration in new areas. PM Modi’s tricennial commemoration address echoed this attitude, with equal emphasis on developing geopolitics and mutual prospects. The fresh strategy will help individuals on both ends while also increasing and bolstering government trust.