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Shaping Israel-India-US defence technology partnership

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 6/16/2021 11:54:54 AM

New Delhi, June 15 Israel-India defence ties have flourished since establishing formal diplomatic relations in 1992. In July 2017, Narendra Modi became the first-ever Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel, signalling a full normalization of the relationship. During Modi’s visit, the bilateral ties were upgraded to a strategic partnership. A core element of this relationship is robust defence cooperation. There is an opportunity to take this bilateral cooperation forward and expand it to a trilateral one by shaping a start-up collaboration between India, Israel and the US. Such a potential collaboration can focus on emerging technologies like robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing. This collaboration will build on the national technological priorities of these three like-minded, techsavvy democracies. A shared threat perception of being surrounded by hostile neighbours has driven Israel-India proximity. Israel’s annual arms sales to India of an average $1 billion are the mainstay of this relationship. It has supplied India drones, radar systems, satellite imagery, handheld thermal imagers and night vision devices, proving particularly valuable in counterterrorism operations. Both countries have codeveloped and operationalized the Barak-8 missile defence system. Israel has also participated in India’s initiative of developing a domestic defence-industrial capability. Israeli companies like Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems have established joint ventures with Indian partners to build niche subsystems and homeland security systems. In fact, Israeli companies have quickly identified and used the unique technological solutions offered by Indian companies. A prominent example is Bengaluru-based Tonbo Imaging, whose specialized electro-optics technology is part of Israel’s precision-guided bombs for years. Just like Israel-India defence cooperation, India- US defence ties too have flourished. Their collaboration spans defence sales and technology co-development and co-production. Moreover, India’s aerospace sector has also become an active participant in the global supply chain of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Capitalizing on these bilateral synergies, the three countries can come together to advance their shared technological goals.