Article Posted on : - Apr 06, 2009

Israel joins hands with India to build artillary munitions

JERUSALEM (BNS): Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) has signed a whopping USD 240 million agreement with India to build five artillery munitions factories in Bihar over a period of three years.

The munitions factories will be built on the line of IMI’s ordnance factory in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Hasharon, as quoted by business daily ‘Globes’.

The Israeli defence industry said that the contract was the result of its collaboration with Indian Government's Ordnance Factories Board (OFB).

IMI will be the chief contractor in the deal and will use Israeli and Indian firms as subcontractors.

The firm's CEO Avi Felder said the global economic crisis would change the procurement pattern by the world's leading militaries, which would switch to upgrading existing weapons platforms on short timetables instead of massive investment in new facilities that would take a long time to develop and deliver.

Israel Military Industries Ltd. also known as ‘Taas’ , are the manufactures of popular fire arms like Uzi submachine gun, Landmine clearing systems, flared and small and heavy ammunitions. IMI produces other defensive products like armour packages, aircraft counter measures like flares, decoys and ECM systems. They are one of the biggest manufactured of military hardware for Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).