LWI - Land Warfare
India to buy Israeli missiles
India is to buy 131 surface-to-air missiles from Israel in a $70 million deal, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 2 January ahead of a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Barak missiles, manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, are to be used for India's future aircraft carrier currently under construction.
Israel has become a major defence supplier to India, selling an average of $1 billion of military equipment each year.
In April 2017, the two countries signed a military deal worth nearly $2 billion which includes the supply over several years of medium-range surface-to-air missiles, launchers and communications technology.
It was unclear whether the deal announced on 2 January was part of that.
The MoD also said it had approved the purchase of 240 air-launched munitions from Russia's JSC Rosonboron Exports for $188 million.
The Indian MoD said: ‘This procurement will address the deficiency of precision-guided munitions in the IAF [Indian Air Force] arsenal, besides enhancing the offensive capabilities of the IAF.’
India, which has longstanding territorial disputes with neighbours China and Pakistan, has signed several big-ticket defence deals since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.
It has however been moving away from relying on traditional ally Russia for military hardware.
More from Land Warfare
-
Insight: Are Ukraine's new vehicle plans really feasible?
Last month, Ukrainian industry announced ambitious plans to develop a brand-new IFV for the country's military that could contribute towards the force's modernisation and bolster ...
-
Colt progresses on Canada's new GPMG
Colt Canada is in the process of finalising production and testing of low-rate versions of the C6A1 FLEX for the Canadian Army’s replacement General Purpose ...
-
Australia awards three defence contracts
The Australian Army, in partnership with the Defence Innovation Hub, has awarded three contracts worth a combined $2.2 million for the development of new defence ...
-
Patriot maintenance delays hindering US Army training
At a time when potential US threats could quickly increase the demand for Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, maintenance delays are hampering solider training. In a ...
-
Philippine Army awards sizeable M113 upgrade
As expected, Elbit Systems has won a government-to-government contract to upgrade 49 M113 APCs for the Philippine Army. Forty-four of these will receive a Dragon ...
-
Knight's new 5.56mm LAMG enters LRIP
Knight's Armament Company's (KAC) new 5.56x45mm NATO Light Assault Machine Gun (LAMG) has now entered low-rate production, with larger calibre variants expected soon. Sources at ...