India is going to partner with Israel in a mega military project, which will further strengthen the already expansive but secretive defence cooperation under way between India and Israel. The contract negotiation committee has made the deal for the joint development of a medium-range surface-to-air missile system (MR-SAM) for the Indian Army through collaboration between DRDO and Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya’alon, who visited India on February, had offered the advanced Iron Dome interceptor, which can be used to intercept the fired rockets. The DRDO-IAI-BDL model is similar to the SAM projects already under way for the Navy and IAF, which are together worth around Rs 13,000 crore. While the interception range of IAF-Navy versions is 70-km, the one for the Army will be 50-km.

Tidbits

• Israel is among the top defence suppliers to India.
• India had inked deals and projects worth around $10 billion over the last 15 years.
• SAM systems are “area defence weapons” that locate, track and destroy incoming hostile aircraft, drones, missiles and helicopters.

GK Questions

• Which country in the World is the Largest Importer of Arms? India.
• Who is the largest supplier of arms to India? Russia
• Name the other biggest global importers of Arms? Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan.