Article Posted on : - Jan 12, 2012

TEL AVIV (PTI): The multi-billion dollar India-Israel defence market is set to grow as a number of military and security related contracts are likely to be inked soon, sources have said, as Tel Aviv is ready for joint production and sharing of technical know-how.

"The financial year gets over in March and we expect a number of deals to be signed. Most of them are in the last negotiation stages," a source said.

Asked what kind of deals are to be signed, the source said, "They are in various fields from upgradation to specialised software, buying of equipments and others".

In the last few years, Israel has emerged as the second largest defence supplier to India after Russia and following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Israel has become a major player in the homeland security arena too.

"You cannot ignore the fact that Israel has very high level of specialisation in such products. From buyer-seller relationship, we are now working jointly on research and development," another source said.

Defence trade with Israel includes buying of billions of dollars of military equipment including UAVs, missiles and command and control systems besides fire arms.

Sources said one of the main attractions of Israeli defence market was that Tel Aviv is ready to share its technical know-how and is ready for joint production.

The cooperation is not just on already developed projects but also which are futuristic.

It is not that India only needs Israel because Tel Aviv is also "pulling out all stops" to ensure that relations with India grows.

In India, the buyers of Israeli defence and security equipments include the army, navy, air force, paramilitary forces and specialised counter-terrorism units and security agencies.

Sources said the software, weapons and arms that are being supplied by Tel Aviv are also being used by Israel's elite army thus ensuring dependability.

The area of cooperation in defence includes air defence systems. Modernisation of tanks and fighter aircraft is also another area where cooperation has increased in recent past.