DEFENSE and SECURITY of INDIA by Armada International & Asian Military Review

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MODERNISATION

THE CHALLENGE TO CHANGE The armed forces need cost effective solutions to enhance their combat edge I AIR CHIEF MARSHAL FALI H. MAJOR SECURITY

NEEDED: PERSPECTIVE PLANNING Twelve years down, the office of the NSA is still a work in progress I SIDDARTH VARADARAJAN FEBRUARY 2010

DEFENCE and SECURITY of INDIA

DSI VOLUME 2

ISSUE 4

Rs 250

COVER STORY

CAMOUFLAGED MANOEUVRES

The countries may play down their strategic and military links but today Israel is India’s second largest arms’ supplier I RAHUL BEDI

POLICING THE SEAS

Despite attacks by terrorists from the sea, the focus on maritime security remains inadequate I C. UDAY BHASKAR

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FEBRUARY, 2010

LETTER FROM THE

editor

ndia’s resumption of diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992 has come as a boon to its defence industry which was flagging after the end of the Cold War. Today, Israel is India’s second largest weapon supplier after Russia. In fact, India’s record procurement of arms has been one of the main reasons behind Israel’s emergence as one of the top five exporters of defence equipment in the world. Today, there is a routine exchange of high level visits between the two countries’ military-political establishments completely over turning India’s earlier reluctance to have relations with Israel. This unparalled cooperation is underpinned by–sometimes–hidden diplomatic, military and intelligence equations between India and Israel. DSI provides an insight into this new security reality. As the year rolls on, DSI authoritatively analyses the modernisation impetus of the Indian armed forces looking particularly at maritime security and the digitisation programme of the Indian Army. Overall, the prognosis is not good. While the quest for technological advantage continues, it has not kept pace with basic defence requirements. But a push to seek cost effective solutions to enhance India’s combative edge through technological superiority will be an essential driver to transform the armed forces. It’s been twelve years since the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) was instituted. With a new incumbent in place its time for a little stocktaking. Over the years, the high profile appointment has become slightly controversial. We look at whether the NSA has managed to fulfill its original mandate of being a prime mover of a long-term, planning structure connected to the National Security Council which is headed by the Prime Minister. The recent elections in war-scarred Sri Lanka were seen as an opportunity to start a new chapter in the troubled island nation’s life. But the first elections, after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, have been acrimonious and the verdict is not without its share of doubts. The re-election of President Mahinda Rajapaksa may well alienate the very people he wanted to win over. Aware that March 8, International Day for Women, is around the corner, DSI takes a bird’s eye view of what it means for women to be part of the country’s Border Security Force. For Basanti Mondal, Putul Murmur and Sharbano Kazi entering the BSF has been a life-changing force. And as for the protection of our international borders—the induction of these new women recruits has not only broken down barriers but stemmed the tide of women involved in extremist activities. As usual, we look forward to your suggestions and feedback. You can send your comments to dsidelhi2010@gmail.com. Should you want to subscribe, please contact us at dsisubscriptions@mtil.biz and our marketing team will do the rest.

Mannika Chopra EDITOR Defence & Security of India

DSI

Today, there is a routine exchange of high level visits between the two countries’ militarypolitical establishments completely upturning India’s earlier reluctance to have relations with Israel.

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CONTENTS

FEBRUARY, 2010

COVER STORY

THE ISRAELI

CONNECTION Following the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992 Israel has become India’s second largest weapon supplier after Russia. The defence relationship has helped Israel’s emergence as one of the top five defence exporters in the world.

TECHNOLOGY 16

LIGHT, LETHAL AND WIRED? NOT YET The Indian Army is well equipped to defend the country’s borders but the complexion of warfare has changed. The Army needs to modernise by upgrading its capabilities for both conventional and sub-conventional conflict and prepare itself for a digitised battlefield. 2

DSI

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FEBRUARY 2010

CONTENTS MODERNISATION

DSI

CHALLENGE TO CHANGE A nuanced modernisation and capability programme, spread over the next three Plan periods, is on the cards. If the military modernisation process is followed through it will place the Indian armed forces on a new trajectory. But capability building is not a simple task and easier said than done.

MARITIME SECURITY

SECURITY

BORDER SECURITY FORCE

POLICING THE SEAS

ARMS AND THE WOMAN

The trauma of 26/11 has compelled the Indian Government to move with urgency to redress the many gaps in its maritime security. But these steps are yet to be fully implemented.

By joining the BSF, women are not only breaking gender barriers but deterring women who are indulging in crossborder criminal and extremist activities.

NEEDED: PERSPECTIVE PLANNING Given their immediate responsibilities and the absence of a proper support structure, successive National Security Advisers have failed to deliver on the long-term, planning front.

NEIGHBOURS

PROMISES AND BETRAYALS The verdict of the recent elections have made it clear that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has alienated the Tamils in a post-war, nationalistic Sri Lanka and underscores that it still remains a divided nation.

Cover: Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma (left) with Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Navy, Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom during the latterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s official visit to India in January 2010/AFP

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FEBRUARY, 2010

CONTRIBUTORS

DSI

DEFENCE and SECURITY of INDIA FEBRUARY 2010 VOLUME 2, NUMBER 4 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

RAHUL BEDI

GURMEET KANWAL SINGH

FALI H. MAJOR

C. UDAY BHASKAR

Rahul Bedi is the New Delhi correspondent for Jane’s Defence Weekly, UK and contributes to it on a diverse range of security and military related matters. He is also the India correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, London and the Irish Times.

Gurmeet Kanwal is Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi. He commanded an infantry brigade during Operation Prakaram on the Line of Control in 2001-03. A soldierscholar, he has authored several books including Indian Army: Vision 2020 and Nuclear Defence: Shaping the Arsenal. He is a well-known columnist and TV analyst on national security issues.

Fali H. Major, commissioned in the Indian Air Force in 1967 as a Wing Commander, has held several important staff and field appointments. As a Wing Commander, he commanded the IAF’s first Mi-17 Squadron and was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) for his leadership. A recipient also of the Shaurya Chakra, he took over as the Air Officer Commanding Leh (Ladakh), in the aftermath of the Kargil conflict in 1999. A graduate from the National Defence College and Army War College, he is the first helicopter pilot to become the Chief of Air Staff in 2007. He is also President, Air Force Association.

Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, currently Director, National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi retired from the Indian Navy in early 2007 after 37 years of service. He is currently Contributing Editor, South Asia Monitor and a columnist for Reuters. He has contributed over 60 research articles to leading defence publications and edited books on nuclear, maritime and international security related issues.

SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN

AMEEN IZZADEEN

Siddharth Varadarajan is the Strategic Affairs Editor and Delhi Bureau Chief of The Hindu and a leading commentators on foreign policy. He has reported extensively from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nepal, Bangladesh, the former Yugoslavia as well as Kashmir and the Northeast. He has edited a book on the Gujarat riots, Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy in 2005. An economist, he has taught at New York University before returning to India to work as a journalist in 1995. He is currently writing a book on the Indo-U.S. relationship.

Ameen Izzadeen is Deputy Editor with the Colombobased Sunday Times. A visiting lecturer at the Bandaranaike Diplomatic Training Institute in Colombo and the Defence Staff College at Batalanda, he holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Colombo University. A columnist on international affairs in Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror newspaper he looks at the region from a Third World perspective.

Maneesha Dube EDITOR

Mannika Chopra CORRESPONDENT

Mangala Ramamoorthy ART DIRECTOR

Bipin Kumar DESIGN

Ajay Kumar, Sandeep Sharma BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Roop Arora MANAGER INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

Vishal Mehta COORDINATOR

Ronald Micah CIRCULATION & DISTRIBUTION

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J S Uberoi

AJITHA MENON Ajitha Menon is the Kolkata Bureau Chief of Asian News International. In a career spanning sixteen years, she has covered politics, as well as defence, international relations, insurgency and Maoist operations across eastern India and the Northeast. Her abiding interest, however, is covering development issues which she has done in Bhutan, China and Bangladesh. A regular contributor to the Women's Feature Service she has written extensively on women’s issues.

GLOBAL SALES REPRESENTATIVES Australia Charlton D'Silva, Mass Media Publicitas Tel: (61 2) 9252 3476 Email: cdsilva@publicitas.com France/Spain Stephane de Remusat, REM International Tel: (33) 5 3427 0130 Email: sremusat@aol.com Germany/Austria/Switzerland/Italy/UK Sam Baird, Whitehill Media Tel: (44-1883) 715 697 Mobile: (44-7770) 237 646 E-Mail: sam@whitehillmedia.com Israel/Turkey Liat Heiblum, Oreet - International Media Tel: (97 2) 3 570 6527 Email: liat@oreet-marcom.com Russia Alla Butova, NOVO-Media Ltd, Tel/Fax : (7 3832) 180 885 Mobile : (7 960) 783 6653 Email :alla@mediatransasia.com, allbbo@online.sinor.ru Scandinavia/Benelux/South Africa Tony Kingham, KNM Media Tel: (44) 20 8144 5934 Mobile: (44) 7827 297 465 E-Mail: tony.kingham@worldsecurity-index.com Singapore/Malaysia/Brunei/Indonesia/China Dr. Rosalind Lui, TSEA International Tel: (65) 6458 7885 Mobile : (65) 9886 3762 E-Mail: drrosalind@tsea.com South Korea Young Seoh Chinn, Jes Media Inc. Tel: (82-2) 481 3411/13 E-Mail: jesmedia@unitel.co.kr USA (East/South East)/Canada Margie Brown, Margie Brown & Associates. Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581 Email :margiespub@rcn.com USA (West/SouthWest)/Brazil Diane Obright, Blackrock Media Inc. Tel: +1 (858) 759 3557 Email: blackrockmedia@cox.net Defence and Security of India is published and printed by Xavier Collaco on behalf of Media Transasia India Limited. Published at 323, Udyog Vihar, Ph- IV, Gurgaon 122016 and printed at Paras Offset Pvt Ltd, C176, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase I, New Delhi. Entire contents Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved. Reproduction and translation in any language in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Requests for permission should be directed to Media Transasia India Limited. Opinions carried in the magazine are those of the writers’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or publishers. While the editors do their utmost to verify information published they do not accept responsibility for its absolute accuracy. The publisher assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material or for material lost or damaged in transit. All correspondence should be addressed to Media Transasia India Limited. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Defence and Security of India is obtained by subscription. For subscription enquiries, please contact: dsisubscriptions@mtil.biz

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FEBRUARY, 2010

CONTRIBUTORS

DSI

DEFENCE and SECURITY of INDIA FEBRUARY 2010 VOLUME 2, NUMBER 4 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

RAHUL BEDI

GURMEET KANWAL SINGH

FALI H. MAJOR

C. UDAY BHASKAR

SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN

AMEEN IZZADEEN

Maneesha Dube EDITOR

Mannika Chopra CORRESPONDENT

Mangala Ramamoorthy ART DIRECTOR

Bipin Kumar DESIGN

Ajay Kumar, Sandeep Sharma BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Roop Arora MANAGER INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

Vishal Mehta COORDINATOR

Ronald Micah CIRCULATION & DISTRIBUTION

Ashwani Rai PRODUCTION & PRE-PRESS

Sunil Dubey, Ritesh Roy, Devender Pandey MEDIATRANSASIA INDIA LIMITED

323, Udyog Vihar, Ph-IV, Gurgaon 122016 Ph: +91 0124-4759500 Fax: +91 0124-4759550 FINANCIAL CONTROLLER

Puneet Nanda PRESIDENT

Xavier Collaco CHAIRMAN

J S Uberoi

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INDO-ISRAELI DEFENCE RELATIONS

KEY POINTS

THE ISRAELI

n Over the past decade Israel has, after Russia, emerged as India’s second largest supplier of materiel annually valued by the armament industry at around $ 1 billion. n The emergent defence relationship is multi-tiered and not dependent entirely on local agents or facilitators who have effectively entered the country’s military establishment.

CONNECTION

India and Israel may play them down but the strategic, military and intelligence links between the countries are deeply embedded

AFP

RAHUL BEDI

DSI

srael’s strategic, military and intelligence links with India have become possibly its most significant in Asia, following the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in January 1992. Prior to 1992 there were informal and clandestine security ties between New Delhi and Tel Aviv, but over the past decade Israel has, after Russia, emerged as India’s second largest supplier of materiel annually valued by armament industry officials at around $ 1 billion. But despite this rapidly proliferating association, it is one that remains deeply shrouded in secrecy operating in an undefined smoke-and-mirrors environment. Both sides go to great lengths to play down this strategic Freemasonry for fear of stirring up anti-Jewish sentiments amongst India’s subDefence stantial Muslim minoriMinister ty and straining ties A.K. Antony with Arab states upon (in white) with whom India depends Indian Air Force for nearly 70 percent of officers and its hydrocarbon imports. crew of the Reciprocal visits to Airborne Delhi and Tel Aviv by Warning and Service, security and Control System intelligence officers, equipped IL-76 Defence Research and aircraft in Development OrganiNew Delhi in sation (DRDO) techniMay 2009 cians and scientists and armament company executives are kept strictly under wraps with neither side willing to comment on the burgeoning defence relationship and related military commerce. But in a surprising revelation that somehow managed to slip through taut bureaucratic cracks, former Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament in August 2005 that Delhi had concluded military contracts with Tel Aviv worth $ 2.76 billion since 2002. Thereafter, this traffic has multiplied manifold even with Israeli

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KEY POINTS

THE ISRAELI

CONNECTION

India and Israel may play them down but the strategic, military and intelligence links between the countries are deeply embedded

AFP

RAHUL BEDI

DSI

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INDO-ISRAELI DEFENCE RELATIONS

Confidential Agreements Official sources said the agreement for 24 IAI-designed Barak (lightening) next generation MRSAM systems and some 2,000 Rafael missiles with a 70 km range for the Indian Air Force (IAF) was kept confidential following fears that its disclosure could prove politically detrimental to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress Party-led administration in wooing Muslim votes essential for re-election. And, earlier in 2005, even though the CBI was inquiring into “alleged irregularities” at the MoD’s behest in awarding the $45,524,137 contract to Israel’s Soltam Systems in 2000 to upgrade 180 Soviet 130mm M 46 field guns to 155 mm/45 calibre, Defence Minister Mukherjee ruled out cancelling the deal or abandoning the retrofit programme. Before 1992, Israel is reported to have stealthily assisted India with limited military aid and weapons during its brief, albeit disastrous war with China in 1962 with its Chief of Staff General David Shaltiel visiting Delhi surreptitiously in 1963. Israel provided similar, albeit limited assistance, during subsequent conflicts with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. After Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in October 1984, India sought Israel’s help to upgrade its VIP protection by training and arming the newly raised Special Protection Group and National Security Guards. These commandoes would travel to Israel via Cyprus—as no direct air links between the two countries existed—but their passports would have no record of their visit to the Jewish State. Israeli specialists also

Reciprocal visits to Delhi andTel Aviv by Service, security and intelligence officers, Defence Research and Development Organisation technicians and scientists and armament company executives are kept strictly under wraps with neither side willing to comment on the burgeoning defence relationship and related military commerce.

ADDITIONAL SYSTEMS UNDER NEGOTIATION OR FOR IMMINENT PURCHASE

”

devised Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s security architecture that continues broadly up to the present. Alongside, two Boeing 707 aircraft that form part of the secretive Aviation Research Centre operated by India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) were fitted with Israeli equipment for communication and electronic surveillance in the 1980s. Israel also provided counter-terrorism assistance to India in the aftermath of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination by Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels in May 1990 as its security and materiel footprint was growing in the island republic during that period. Strict secrecy was maintained over this cooperation and contacts owing to political constraints and the involvement of sensitive security issues. India’s close links with Yasser Arafat and the larger Palestinian cause also foreclosed the option of making this association public. The disintegration of the Soviet Union, India’s longstanding ally and principal weapons supplier, came as a major blow to Delhi. Overnight, crucial supplies of arms and spares for military equipment were interminably delayed and India was compelled to consider

AFP

corporations under federal investigation on corruption charges. In March 2009, for instance, three days before the announcement of general elections, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) secretly signed a $ 2.01 billion contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for a medium range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) system, ignoring the ongoing inquiry launched in 2006 against the company by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This investigation involved alleged bribery charges against a former Indian defence minister and ex-Naval Chief following the Rs 11.25 billion acquisition in 2000 of seven IAI Barak-1 area air-defence missile systems for Indian Navy (IN) warships.

DSI

A possible follow-on purchase of three additional Phalcon AEW&C platforms

Additional Heron II UAVs

Procurement by the army of El-Op’s Portable Laser Designating System (PLD)

Additional 20,000 TAR-21 ARs for the paramilitary—the Cobra commando’s from the Central Reserve Police Force—and the possibility of locally building the weapon system in collaboration with the Ordnance Factory Board, the demand for which will eventually run into tens of thousands

Several hundred full solution thermal imaging fire control systems (TIFCS) to upgrade T-72M1s

diversifying its materiel imports, realising the danger of dependence on a single, unreliable source. The establishment of formal diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992 under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao enabled both sides to explore and develop defence and strategic ties on the basis of mutual security and commercial interests. But it still took another six years and the nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party’s ascent to power for Israel’s defence machinery to definitively establish itself in India, second only to the Russians. India’s deteriorating internal security environment through the 1990s to threatening and, at times, alarming levels and the availability of The then External modern weapon Affairs Minister systems and low Pranab Mukherjee intensity warfare (right) shakes hands know-how to terwith Israel Deputy rorists too spawned Prime Minister and the requirement for Minister of Interior updated weaponry Meir Sheetrit during and sophisticated an official meeting systems. To fulfill in New Delhi in that need too, India November 2007 views Israel’s evolved industrial-military complex favourably and as one that answered many of its defence and security needs. Israeli expertise in manufacturing and upgrading combat aircraft, anti-tactical ballistic missile systems, electronic warfare (EW) and communication equipment and security technology particularly excited India whilst military officials also indicated an interest in the Israel defense forces’ successful warfare strategies and concepts particularly with regard to countering armed insurgencies. Besides, the outright sale of weapons and related force multipliers and retrofitting varied outdated Soviet-Russian era military equipment, Israel’s defence

involvement in India presently encompasses limited joint production of conventional weapon systems like ballistic missiles. Both countries perceive their non-conventional ambitions in the form of ballistic missiles as an integral part of their objective to be regarded as threshold nuclear powers. Limited technology transfers for EW-related systems to augment networkcentricity amongst all three Services, which remains the Indian military’s longdesired but unrealised goal, intelligence sharing on terrorism issues and Israeli military training assistance to India’s Special Forces (SF) comprise an integral part of the bilateral strategic and defence relationship. Israel and India share similar unpublicised concerns over threats posed not only by a nuclear-weapon capable and increasingly Islamised Pakistan but the rapid radicalisation of its society and armed forces. And, as Pakistan struggles under the weight of its regional and tribal tensions there is the apocalyptic fear of its strategic weapons cache falling into the hands of radical Islamic groups, a paranoia shared by many Western countries including Israel’s closest ally, the US. Revelations in 2004, surrounding the sale of nuclear secrets and centrifuges by Pakistan’s atomic scientist A.Q. Khan to Iran—and to Libya—to help them with their respective weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes, severely alarmed Israel further underpinning the need for Tel Aviv and Delhi to cement bilateral military and strategic ties to share information and construct fail safe options to neutralise this threat. Pakistan’s atomic devices, tested in response to rival India’s in 1998, are often referred to by many analysts as the “Islamic Bomb”, an association that has chilling echoes in Israel. Itself a “closet”

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INDO-ISRAELI DEFENCE RELATIONS

ADDITIONAL SYSTEMS UNDER NEGOTIATION OR FOR IMMINENT PURCHASE

”

AFP

DSI

A possible follow-on purchase of three additional Phalcon AEW&C platforms

Additional Heron II UAVs

Procurement by the army of El-Op’s Portable Laser Designating System (PLD)

Several hundred full solution thermal imaging fire control systems (TIFCS) to upgrade T-72M1s

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FEBRUARY 2010

INDO-ISRAELI DEFENCE RELATIONS The 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan dramatically pushed Israel to centrestage in the Indian military arena. As the seriousness of the eventual 11-week-long conflict unfolded, Israel dug deep into its military reserves to supply India high-end hardware like the badly needed 155 mm ordnance; unmanned aerial vehicles and laser-guided bombs.

”

er-known operators—former military officers, well connected businessmen and retired civil servants—on a case-by-case basis, offering them varying incentives to finalise deals. Large Israeli corporations like IAI, ElOp and even Israem Military Industries and its breakaway Israel Weapon Industries, which have negotiated large deals selling and upgrading equipment are known to prefer hiring newly retired military officers to push their wares, con-

vinced that peer pressure will eventually deliver results. Conversely, DRDO and MoD efforts to sell Israel Lakshya, its pilot-less drone, in 2003-04, in a token effort to offset the large amount of military equipment Tel Aviv was supplying Delhi, remained stillborn. Pleading “insufficient funds, Israel summarily turned down the Indian drone for which price negotiations had opened, opting instead for a US-made system. Till now, Israel has bought just one locally

Skilled Manipulation

AFP

nuclear weapon State, Israel is deeply concerned about possible Pakistani atomic proliferation to Iran—presently facing international inquisition over its reportedly covert strategic weapons programme—and the wider, anti-Zionist Muslim world. It is also important to grasp the Israeli establishments argument that like itself, Delhi is surrounded by hostile neighbours and hence a nation under “siege” which needs desperately to strengthen and bolster its security apparatus. Furthermore, Israel markets itself as a country offering a wide range of battletested, new and upgraded materiel, in many cases of US origin and one that can effortlessly facilitate transfers that are largely not subject to international arms control regimes. Over years, this reasoning found an echo in Delhi’s political and strategic circles. The 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan dramatically pushed Israel to centrestage in the Indian military arena. As the seriousness of the eventual 11-week-long conflict unfolded, Israel dug deep into its military reserves to supply India highend hardware like the badly-needed 155 mm ordnance, unmanned aerial vehicles

officials of SIBAT, the Foreign Defence Assistance and Defence Export Organisation, approve scores of local agents to sell their wares. Almost all negotiations with Israeli defence manufacturers, at some point involve SIBAT officials posted at the Delhi embassy who tap effectively into the reservoir of information gathered through de-briefings in Tel Aviv. For, unlike other country’s vendors, Israeli materiel providers operate in concert given their nations inherent paranoia for security. On returning home from India, all armament company executives are exhaustively de-briefed by Israeli security services creating over years a wealth of data on the main players in the system, their weaknesses, ‘bribe-ability’ in a largely corrupt procurement milieu and, above all their vulnerabilities.

The Indian Army’s T-72M1 Ajeya Main Battle Tank was upgraded using partial solution Thermal Imaging Stand Alone Systems from Israel’s El-Op

DSI

(UAVs) and laser-guided bombs that contributed, in part, to vacating the mountainous regions siege and eventually terminating the fighting. Soon after, Israel began claiming its dues in materiel sales and continues to do so, prospering greatly in the process.

Multi-Tiered Defence Relationship The emergent defence relationship is multi-tiered and not dependent entirely on local agents or facilitators who have effectively spread their tentacles into the country’s military establishment. “There is the broader context that includes politics, diplomacy and common threat perceptions like Pakistan and the fear of its ‘Islamic bomb’ falling into the wrong

hands” a three-star Indian military officer said, declining to be named. Israel, he admitted, has convinced India of its near indispensability as a reliable weapons provider. India’s political leadership and the military, on the other hand, too have come to realise the efficacy of Israel in this role, firm in the belief that materiel supplies would continue uninterrupted as Tel Aviv neither believes nor adheres to any sanctions regime. Its unstinted support of South Africa during the apartheid era is evidence of this propensity. Locally, Israeli defence contractors’ efforts coordinate with the embassy that functions as the hub for their activities. Israeli defence manufacturers, aided by

According to armament industry sources, Israeli vendors had skillfully manipulated the DRDO, once contracts were inked, aided by co-operative insiders. Their tactics include, supplying products freely available locally—computer screens, for instance, for a command and control system for the artillery—at astronomical prices but withholding crucial components in a deal that involves transfer of technology in order to extract a higher price. This latter instance involved the cooling and display unit crucial to some 6,000 hand-held thermal imaging systems that the State-owned Bharat Electronics Limited was building under a transfer of technology (ToT) contract. Also with DRDO connivance, Israeli companies reportedly “manage” delays in equipment development forcing the Services to opt for “intermediate imports” from Israel to meet urgent operational requirements. In addition, some Request for Proposals (RFPs) or tenders for military equipment sent to overseas suppliers are conveniently fashioned around Israeli products. In several instances, the MoD has been known to contravene established directives by sourcing equipment from a single Israeli company instead of two or more manufacturers in keeping with successive editions of the Defence Procurement Procedures. Other than these established operators, the Israeli pursue a ‘buckshot’ approach in securing contracts, convinced that one if not more of the ‘pellets’ would eventually hit their target. Hence they work with less-

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FEBRUARY 2010

”

Skilled Manipulation

AFP

The Indian Army’s T-72M1 Ajeya Main Battle Tank was upgraded using partial solution Thermal Imaging Stand Alone Systems from Israel’s El-Op

DSI

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FEBRUARY 2010

INDO-ISRAELI DEFENCE RELATIONS

DSI

MAJOR INDO-ISRAELI DEFENCE DEALS SINCE 2000 l Three IAI Phalcon Ilyushin IL-76TD (Airborne Early Warning and Control) for around

$2 billion of which one arrived last year and the remaining two are expected shortly. l Around 70-odd IAI-built Searcher Mk 1 and Mk 2 and Heron UAVs and 30 Harpy

ground attack Drones that constitute an integral ingredient of the burgeoning network-centric warfare capability that all three Services seek to execute for the full spectrum of conflict from insurgencies to nuclear war. l Two Green Pine radar supplemented by aerostat balloons. l 30 Rafael Industries-built AGM-142 Raptor Have Nap/Popeye missile, specially

configured for the IAF for around $ 62.7 million. l Rafael’s SPYDER (Surface-to-air Python and Derby) low level quick reaction missile

system (LLQRM) for the IAF worth some $ 260 million. l 3070 5.56 mm Tavor 21 assault rifles (TAR-21) from Israel Weapon Industries (IWI),

the break away small arms division of Israel Military Industries (IMI) for $ 20 million for India’s Special Forces (SF). l An unspecified number of Galil 7.62mm sniper rifles in addition to varied night vision

and laser range finding and targeting equipment also for the SF. l Electronics suites for Su-30MKI, MiG-27 and Jaguar combat aircraft and for Mi-35

helicopters. Advanced avionics and weaponry for 125 MiG 21 ‘bis’ upgraded ground attack aircraft. l 11 Barak-1 systems, including around 250 missiles. l 26 Derby missiles for the Indian Navy’s Sea Harrier fighters presently

undergoing a retrofit. l Upgrade of 180 M46 130 mm field guns to 155mm/39 cal for $ 45,524,137 by Soltam. l 333 partial solution Thermal Imaging Stand Alone Systems (TISAS) from El-Op to

upgrade the Army’s T-72M1 Ajeya Main Battle Tank for around $ 120,000 each. l Five Super Dovra II Extra Fast Attack Craft from IAI equipped with modern

surveillance systems acquired from December 1996 onwards; two are being constructed under licence at Goa Shipyard Limited while the requirement for another 15 is projected for the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.

Israeli Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi inspects the Guard of Honour during his three-day visit to India in December 2009

l 130 Long Range Observation Systems (LOROS), a multi-sensor imaging system for

long range day and night observation from El-Op. l 1,200 Hand-Held Thermal Imaging Systems from El-Op. l Hi-tech sensors for the Line of Control in Kashmir also from El-Op. l Six El-Op Portable Laser Designating System for the IAF. l IAI is collaborating with the DRDO to jointly develop a next generation Barak-II ship-

borne area air defence missile system extending its strike range from 10 km to 70-80 km. The deal signed in February 2006 is valued at around $ 300 million. l IAI’s Lahav division has provided the glass cockpit package for Dhruv that includes an

IAI designed Barak-1 air-defence missile systems

designed and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-built Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) to ferry its VIP’s but has provided its avionics and several crucial systems. Military sources, however, concede that Israeli access to India’s defence sector is ‘awesome and considerable’ bordering on ‘alarming’. It is one which Service officers remain helpless to restrict

electronic warfare suite, day and night observation capability and targeting and flexible armament systems.

or dilute backed as it is by staunch, institutionalised Government support earlier by the BJP-led coalition till 2004 and thereafter by the Congress Party-dominated administration. With Israeli help, the Indian Air Force is developing a mobile ground-based imagery receiving and processing terminal for use by ground combat forces and the Navy to target a range of locally

designed nuclear-capable missiles. Agreements are reportedly in place with Israel to lease capacity on its reconnaissance Ofeq-5 military satellites until India hones its own capabilities. Further evidence of this continuing but unacknowledged collaboration emerged in January 2008 after the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully placed an IAI-designed TecSAR

military satellite in polar orbit in a classified operation to which access, at Tel Aviv’s request, was strictly limited. TecSAR is expected to appreciably augment Israel’s intelligence-gathering capabilities by providing 24-hour high-resolution synthetic-aperture radar imagery in all-weather conditions at an affordable cost. Two additional TecSAR satellite launches are expected imminently. Alongside, the IAF’s plans for a country-wide deployment of integrated air command-and-control systems that comprise airborne early warning and control platforms, radar, fighter aircraft and UAVs to replace the obsolete airspace management command and reporting centres are also being incrementally resuscitated with Israeli help. Israel has also provided India with

It is also important to grasp the Israeli establishments argument that like itself, Delhi is surrounded by hostile neighbours and hence a nation under “siege” which needs desperately to strengthen and bolster its security apparatus.

counter-terrorism assistance to help it deal with the Kashmiri insurgency. It made available over a dozen technical teams to assist India in augmenting its border intelligence gathering capabilities in addition to anti-terrorism counter measures like upgraded border fencing, ground sensors and hand-held thermal imagers for use by the Army and paramilitary border guards. Israeli-built hyper band communication systems and devices to jam militant communications were also provided to enhance India’s security grid. The IN is also in the process of acquiring five Israeli aerostat programmable radars to plug vital surveillance gaps in its coastal security following the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist strikes that were launched via the sea.