India-Israel Defence Partnership
Scope and Significance
Israel is one of India's most significant defence technology partners. Between 2020 and 2024, Israel supplied approximately 13% of India's total arms imports, making Israel India's third-largest arms supplier after Russia and France. In the same period, India was the single largest importer of Israeli weapons — accounting for roughly 34% of Israel's defence exports.
Key systems India has acquired from Israel include: Barak-8 surface-to-air missile system (jointly developed by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries/IAI); Heron and Hermes 900 Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs; Spyder air defence system; Litening targeting pods for combat aircraft; and various radar systems including ELM-2052 AESA radar for Jaguar aircraft.
The Or Eitan laser-based air defence system (also called "Iron Beam" in earlier iterations) represents a frontier capability — using directed energy (high-powered laser) to intercept drones, mortars, and short-range rockets at very low per-intercept cost. India's integration into this system would mark a significant qualitative upgrade in air defence.
- India-Israel arms trade: bilateral arms trade surged from $5.6 million (2015) to $185 million (2024); peaked at $265 million in 2023
- Israel's share of Indian arms imports (2020-24): ~13%; India's share of Israeli defence exports: ~34%
- Key platforms: Barak-8 SAM (co-developed), Hermes 900 MALE UAV (assembled in India by Elbit-Adani JV, Hyderabad since 2018), Spyder SAM system
- Or Eitan/Iron Beam: laser-based intercept system; per-intercept cost ~$3.50 vs. Iron Dome missile (~$20,000-$50,000)
- Defence procurement route: Government-to-Government (G2G) and licensed production under "Make in India" framework
- 2016: India-Israel signed Defence Cooperation Agreement establishing a Joint Working Group on defence R&D
● Tracked since February 24, 2026 · last seen May 06, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes