Ray

India, Israel to develop hi-tech defence hardware


http://www.keralanext.com/news/?id=46101

New Delhi, India : India will soon launch programmes with Israel and the US to develop nano-materials and hi-tech components needed for electronic warfare systems, a top defence scientist said here Tuesday.
V.K. Aatre, the outgoing chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said India had decided to launch joint programmes with Israel in the field of electronic warfare, where both countries were on an equal footing.


"They (Israel) are very strong in sensors and packaging. We would like to work on fibre-optic gyros and micro-electromechanical systems," Aatre told reporters shortly before he retired as DRDO chief.

Referring to cooperation with the US in defence research, he said the two sides had done some work on life sciences and would launch joint programmes on developing nano-technology and nano-materials. India and the US currently have a joint technical group to oversee collaboration in defence research.


Experts say such technologies could one day lead to highly compact and hard-to-detect flying machines and vehicles that could be used for surveillance.

Aatre, who headed DRDO for nearly five years, said the organisation had achieved "a fair amount of maturity" in developing electronic warfare and radar systems. It had also made significant strides in developing integrated circuits and components used in aircraft, missiles and electronic warfare systems.

A battlefield surveillance radar and a weapon locating radar (WLR) developed by DRDO would soon be subjected to extensive tests and Aatre said he was confident the WLR would soon emerge as an indigenous equivalent to a system currently imported from the US.

The DRDO is also working on a missile defence system, a missile warning system and an underwater unmanned vehicle.

__________________


"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

HAKUNA MATATA

Ray

India, Israel trade touch $1.23 bn

I
http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2004/aug/26israel.htm


Bilateral trade between India and Israel has touched a new high of $1.23 billion, registering an increase of 42.9 per cent, official sources said in Jerusalem on Thursday.

The two-way trade between the two countries reached $1,259 million during the January to July period compared to $880.9 million in the corresponding period last year, they said.

Indian exports to Israel for the first seven months of this year increased by 29 per cent from $493.3 million in 2003 to $636.5 million in 2004.

Israeli exports for the corresponding period increased by 60.6 per cent from $387.6 million in 2003 to $622.5 million.

The share of India's exports in Israel's global imports increased from 2.5 per cent in 2003 to 2.8 per cent in 2004.

The current figures suggest a six-fold increase in trade between the strategic partners, starting from a modest figure of $200 million in 1992.

India overtook Japan last year to become Israel's second largest trading partner in Asia, with Hong Kong continuing to be in the first place.

The figures do not include defence deals between the two countries. India is said to be the leading purchaser of Israeli arms with defence journals predicting it at more than $2 billion.

Ray

IAI to transport IDF officers, VIPs for millions of sheke
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/glob...820870&fid=942


Israel Aircraft Industries will buy Indian-manufactured ALH Dhruv helicopters for the purpose.
Felix Frisch 3 Aug 04 15:41

Sources inform “Globes” that Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is expected to obtain a contract for helicopter transportation of senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officers and some VIPs. The Israel Air Force dispersed its light helicopter squadron a year ago. The contract is estimated at several million shekels per year.

The Ministry of Defense procurement and production directorate is currently negotiating with IAI. IAI plans to buy Indian-manufactured ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) Dhruv helicopters for the new mission.

The IAI Lahav plant is a partner in developing an advanced version of the Dhruv, which will be equipped with Israeli avionics. IAI is expected to purchase the helicopters at a low price. IAI is committed to reciprocal procurement in India in exchange for the India’s purchase of the Phalcon early warning airplane, and the helicopters will count as reciprocal procurement.

Various defense industry sources said that IAI was expected to obtain the project without a tender, as part of the distribution of projects to various defense industries.

IAI declined to respond to the report. IAI sources said that negotiations were underway, and details could not be given at this stage.

The Ministry of Defense had not responded to the report, as of web posting.

Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on August 3, 2004

Ray

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5...2200000135.htm

Military ponders missile defence

DEFENCE DIARY | Vishal Thapar
August 2


The Indian military leadership has taken its first step on ballistic missile defence. An inter-service committee, headed by a two-star officer, has been set up at the Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters for a detailed study on the technical and operational aspects of a missile defence cover for India, as also its cost implications.

This committee will submit its report to the Chiefs of Staff Committee, which will then consider the issue before making a relevant recommendation to the government.

Already, Israel is reported to have proposed that India join hands with it in the development of the Arrow missile defence system. The feasibility of this offer has been advanced by India's acquisition of Israeli-made radar and early warning systems.

India already has the Barak anti-missile system for point defence. It has also acquired the Greenpine ground-based early warning radars and finalised the deal for the Phalcon airborne early warning system. The Greenpines will also feed target data to the Phalcons. It remains to be seen whether these systems can eventually be integrated into an overarching missile defence cover.

ZFBoxcar

http://www.jinsa.org/articles/articl...1947,1948,1971

India-Israel Military Ties Continue to Grow
Troop Training to Supplement Arms Sales

Israel is expected to train four battalions of nearly 3,000 Indian soldiers for specialized anti-insurgency strikes, adding to their training in desert, mountain, jungle, and counter-hijacking and hostage crisis situations. New Delhi's turn to Jerusalem for combat soldier expertise is due, in part, to disappointing results in border clashes with Pakistani forces and to last year's suicide attack by Muslim terrorist infiltrators on Indian Parliament members. Among the many tasks expected of them, the newly trained Indian troops are expected to stop infiltration by Pakistani terrorists into India via the contested Kashmir region, according to the Jerusalem Post, Feb. 3, 2003.

Presumably to equip these soldiers, India recently concluded a $30 million agreement with Israel Military Industries (IMI) for 3,400 Tavor assault rifles, 200 Galil sniper rifles, as well as night vision and laser range finding and targeting equipment. The purchase seems to demonstrate a broadening of the defense trade relationship beyond Indian purchase of Israeli high-tech electronic systems. For decades, New Delhi has bought most of its Air Force and Army hardware from Russia. To pay for all of this, the Indian defense budget has grown considerably and is expected to reach $100 billion in the next decade.

Indo-Israeli trade is on the rise climbing from about $250 million annually to more than $1.15 billion in the most recent years and the defense sector has seen the most rapid growth.

Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) services several large contracts with the Indian Air Force (IAF) including the upgrading of the IAF's Russian-made MiG-21 ground attack aircraft, sales of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and laser-guided bombs. Negotiations reportedly are in advanced stages for Israel to provide state-of-the-art fire control systems and thermal imagers for the Indian Army's Russian-made T-72 tank fleet.

Indian defense officials acknowledged the acquisition of two Israeli Elta Green Pine long-range radar systems, a component of the Arrow Ballistic Missile Defense System, according to the International Herald Tribune, Feb.10, 2003. The same paper reports that India is negotiating the purchase the sophisticated airborne early-warning and control Phalcon system in a bid to bolster the country's defenses against missilesÑa deal that requires approval from the U.S. due to sanctions imposed on India in 1998 as a result of the country's Pokhran nuclear tests.

Israeli-Indian-U.S. strategic talks have also begun on the sale of the complete Arrow missile defense system to New Delhi. A 2001 Pentagon review concluded that the defensive nature of the Arrow system exempts it from sales restrictions imposed by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an international agreement designed to stop the spread of offensive missile technology.

Along with its military needs however, the burgeoning Indian economy has led to keen competition for India's growing civilian aircraft market as well, where demand is expected to soar in the coming years. Europe's Airbus consortium recently won out over the Boeing Co. for the $1.7 billion contract to supply 28 commercial jets to Indian Airlines and the international flagship carrier Air India. The largest Indian aerospace firm, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), joined hands with IAI for the joint marketing of the HAL-built Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).

During February's Aero India 2003, the international aerospace exposition in Bangalore, HAL officials announced an agreement to integrate IAI's avionics into the ALH platform and to market the ALH globally. Also at the expo, IMI exhibited its anti-tank anti-personnel (ATAP) cluster bomb, designed to strike infantry and armored vehicles. Its sub-munitions include a self-destruct mechanism to minimize the risk to friendly forces and civilians entering the area after an attack, resulting in a significant upgrade for both Indian defensive and commercial operations.

Ray

Boxcar,

Are you aware that in 1971, the war that liberatd East Pakistan from the brutal rape amd massacre of the West Pakistanis, who got us the Isreali weapons and was also greatly instrumental in sorting them out?

It was a JEW from Calcutta! Lt Gen J Jacob.

And here you and Lunatock in particular think that India is Hindu funaamentlist driven. Sonia Ganfhi a Catholic is the REAL power.

Is there any revolt against the same? The Ballot is the answer unlike some countries where the uniform is!

We are proud of our equation with Israel.

Asim Aquil

That was so trollish.

from dictionary.com: "... Trolling aims to elicit an
emotional reaction from those with a hair-trigger on the reply
key. A really subtle troll makes some people lose their
minds." (and may a say ROFL on that last sentence).

This thread was going smooth till the flame bait about the 1971 war:

from dictionary.com: "... (A) message intended to
trigger a flame war, or one that invites flames in reply."

You WANT a flame war

from dictionary.com: "An acrimonious dispute conducted on a
public electronic forum ..."

Congrats, you really are a troll. A well disguised one, but you are. That is of course just IMHO.

Rahul

Honestly Ray, no offense but you didn't have to add this in there. Cut that out, and things would be OK. Was there any real reason to add this in? You could have just said "The 1971 war" and spared yourself the trouble of typing more words and starting a flame war. There are some doctors in my town who are from Bangladesh and they never have great words for Pakistan on a debate forum, you've got to be sensitive to other posters' opinions, unless of course, you're aim is to start a flame war.

That said, I'm glad there is more Indo-Israeli cooperation. It is a good thing and a pragmatic thing, not for ideological "we are fighting the war on Islamic terror" reasons but simply because if they have good equipment and expertise to offer, why shouldn't we take it? Diversifying our suppliers of defense equipment can't hurt. Also, regarding the Jewish community in India, as far as a I know, India is the one of the few places where Jews were not persecuted.

__________________
Am out of town for a while and then have tons of work coming up at school. Will be back once that's all done.

Asim Aquil

So India's definitely getting some Arrows? I heard it required some US approval? So the 'okay' has been given?

ZFBoxcar

Ray, I don't think India is Hindu fundamentalist driven. And even if it were, the Hindu fundemantalists are more pro-Israel than the secularists. And fundamentalism of any sort is usually focused on the largest minority or majority possible. In India, why would Hindu fundamentalists waste time on Jews and Catholics when the "threat" is 14% of the population that is Muslim. Same thing in Israel, extremist Jews don't care about any body but the Arabs, who are seen as the "threat". But again, I do not think India is really anymore Hindu fundamentalist than the US is Protestant.

But your comments about Pakistan's oppression of Bangladesh...well, I have heard Pakistanis say that Bangladesh was treated like crap, but for the purposes of this thread, there was no point in mentioning it unless you meant to incite. If this were a thread about Bangladesh or the pros and cons of Pakistani rule (ie a Kashmir thread) then there might be relevance to your comment. But when talking about Indo-Israeli ties, theres no point.

ZFBoxcar

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3593858.stm

Tuesday, 31 August, 2004
From the promised land to the golden land


By Altaf Hussain
BBC correspondent in Srinagar

Nineteen-year-old Dikla from the Israeli city of Yoknem is visiting Indian-administered Kashmir for the third time in three years.

Noam
Israelis top the number of foreign visitors
This time she is accompanied by her mother, Shosh, who had initially been nervous of her daughter's choice of holiday destination.

They are part of a growing number of Israeli tourists visiting the troubled region, which is disputed between India and Pakistan.

Official figures reveal that Israelis top the number of foreign tourists who have visited Kashmir this year.

Most of them are young people travelling on their gap year after finishing their compulsory military training.

No fears

The choice of Kashmir as a destination for many Israelis seems particularly incongruous given the fact that Islamic militants battle Indian security forces almost on a daily basis.


When I am here, it is like family
Shosh

Paradise regained?

Israel is not very popular among the state's Muslim majority who strongly sympathise with the Palestinians.

But for Dikla and Shosh, relaxing in a house-boat on Srinagar's picturesque Dal Lake, it appears to be far removed from violence.

The two women have even stepped out of the heavily-guarded capital, visiting the scenic tourist resorts of Sonamarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam.

The only precaution they take is to avoid visiting central Srinagar, for fear of being hurt in a bomb explosion or caught up in an exchange of fire between militants and the Indian police.

"When I am here, it is like family," Shosh told BBC News Online.

"I know they are Muslims. When you know each other from inside, it is easy to be friends."

A house-boat owner, Bilal Baktoo, explains that his community, who live off tourism, have to make their guests feel at home.

Dikla
Dikla is on her third visit in three years
"They are tourists to us. We have nothing to do with their faith."

Another young Israeli, Danny, suggests he would not feel as safe in an Arab country as he does in Kashmir.

"Even though I am in a Muslim part of India, it is still India.

"The presence of the army in the streets contributes a lot to the feeling of security I have here."

But another young Israeli, Eran, says he was upset by the sight of the army and the police when he arrived in Srinagar.

"Not because I am an Israeli, but because I don't like seeing people with guns. But when you come to the lake and rest here, everything looks different."

Targets

But it can be a risky business.

In the early 1990s, Muslim militants kidnapped seven Israeli tourists in Srinagar whom they suspected of being on a spying mission.

Five of the hostages freed themselves after a scuffle in which one hostage and one militant were killed.

Danny
Danny feels safer in Kashmir than in an Arab country
The other hostage was rescued by members of the separatist Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.

But that incident did little to slow down the influx of Israeli tourists into the Kashmir Valley.

Eran's friend, Noam, says a large number of Israelis are keen to visit Kashmir thanks to a recent book in which a young Israeli author, Gabi Nitzan, describes how he was filled with joy by the sight of lotus flowers on the surface of the Dal Lake every morning.

Noam has no fears at all but says he takes routine precautions.

He stays away from crowded places and avoids going near soldiers.

A day after he arrived in Srinagar, he received an e-mail from his mother who warned him that Kashmir was not a safe place.

"I wrote back saying that I am in Ladakh," he says laughing.

Many of the Israeli tourists appear to think that the violence in Kashmir is no worse than that in their own country.

They do draw a parallel.

"Life here is not quiet inside. It is like Israel," says Shosh.

Ray

No change in ties with Israel: Ronen Sen

Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC | September 01, 2004 14:00 IST

India's ambassador to the US Ronen Sen has asserted that there would be absolutely no shift in India's policy with Israel.

He was speaking at a conference *** reception organized by the American Jewish Committee to discuss public policy concerns of the Indian American and Jewish American communities on the margins of the Republican Convention in New York.

Highlighting the centuries-old ties between Jews and India and the defence cooperation which was aggressively promoted by the previous government in India, he said "there has been some speculation that after the change of government there might be a change of policies--change in direction.

India Israel sign $ 2 bn arms deal

"It is not so, because the ties --we have such deep foundations and they are based on shared values, common concerns.

"We are not going to shift our policy, because they are not based on transient considerations but on long-term shared interests, common values and common aspirations," he told the audience which included several Jewish leaders, including several delegates to the Convention and US lawmakers.

"Israel is emerging as a very, very major partner in defense cooperation and this could not be possible unless both countries have a long-term perspective--a long-term strategic perspective--which they share, which is manifested in this defense cooperation.

An Indo US Israel trilateral dialogue

"It is no accident also--and we are talking of (countering) terrorism--it is no accident that the first country after the United States, with which Israel established institutional mechanisms for consultation and cooperation in counter-terrorism, was India."

Sen also questioned Washington's policy vis-à-vis Pakistan, and referred to Washington's willingness to overlook nuclear proliferation by the father of Pakistan's nuclear program A Q Khan as well as cross border terrorism into India.

"I would prefer not to go into details, except to say only one thing, we know that it was governmental people(in Pakistan), not individual efforts," behind the nuclear technology transfers to Iran and North Korea, he said.

"It was fully coordinated--the man who was leading (Khan)--who has been isolated as a sort of individual buccaneer, was leading government delegations with the full knowledge of the government and certainly with the knowledge of certain army chiefs."

Pakistan "is the only country in the world, which has a military finger directly penetrated, into the nuclear weapons program." In other places, "like India and Israel, we have democratic checks and balances. But I don't want to go into details because more details tend to create more problems," he said.

"The basic thing we are saying is, All right, we understand expediency--we are not even talking about double-standards, because it has been applied all the time--but all we are saying is, while you make tactical moves, don't let tactical moves sabotage and subvert your long-term strategies and goals. That's all we are saying.

Terrorists could use Pakistani nukes against India, Israel, US

"So I would not like to go into details on this, except to say that it is not now, but if you have chronicled evidence of let's say, terrorist camps run by an army in neighboring state openly. You have eye witness accounts of how before they (the terrorists) enter the place, they have to ceremoniously wipe their feet on three flags--US, India, and Israel," he said.

"This is not something that is happening today. People know it. It has been chronicled, it has been published, but it has been ignored."

Copyright © 2004 rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/sep/01sen.htm

Ray

http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20ar...%20Jointly.htm

India, Israel to Develop Missiles Jointly

Indo-Asian News Service, Arab News

NEW DELHI, 1 September 2004 — India, which tested an indigenously built ballistic missile on Sunday, is holding talks with Israel about joint production of a long-range missile, the country’s chief military scientist announced yesterday.

India will soon launch programs with Israel to develop hi-tech components needed for electronic warfare systems, V.K. Aatre, the outgoing chief of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), said.

Aatre said India had decided to launch joint programs with Israel in the field of electronic warfare, where both countries were on an equal footing.

“Wherever they have strengths, we want to jointly develop the missiles so that both countries can benefit and share designs, costs and risks,” Atre said.

Atre denied that Israel was already helping India to build guided missiles and said defense cooperation was confined to research and the development of sensors and fiber-optic gyroscopes for the military.

“They (Israel) are very strong in sensors and packaging. We would like to work on fiber-optic gyros and micro-electromechanical systems,” Aatre told reporters shortly before he retired as DRDO chief.

Atre did not elaborate about the system which India hopes to build jointly with Israel. He said talks are being held between the DRDO and its state-owned Israeli counterpart.

India has in recent years forged close military links. It is acquiring two Phalcon Airborne Early Warning Systems from the Jewish state at a cost of $1 billion.

Referring to cooperation with the United States in defense research, the scientist said the two sides had done some work on life sciences and would launch joint programs on developing nano-technology and nano-materials. India and the US currently have a joint technical group to oversee collaboration in defense research.

Experts say such technologies could one day lead to highly compact and hard-to-detect flying machines and vehicles that could be used for surveillance.

Aatre, who headed DRDO for nearly five years, said the organization had achieved “a fair amount of maturity” in developing electronic warfare and radar systems. It had also made significant strides in developing integrated circuits and components used in aircraft, missiles and electronic warfare systems.

A battle field surveillance radar and a weapon locating radar (WLR) developed by DRDO would soon be subjected to extensive tests and Aatre said he was confident the WLR would soon emerge as an indigenous equivalent to a system currently imported from the US.

The DRDO is also working on a missile defense system, a missile warning system and an underwater unmanned vehicle.

Aatre described the maiden flight of the indigenously developed light combat aircraft (LCA) as the “highlight” of his 25-year career with DRDO.

“The LCA has completed 260 flights and come of age. We hope to get initial operational clearance for it in 2007,” he said.

“Induction into the Indian Air Force is expected by 2010, and we will make eight aircraft a year, with the first (production) aircraft expected in 2007,” he said, adding that the LCA was expected to fly with the indigenous Kaveri engine by 2006-07.

Aatre admitted the problems faced in developing Kaveri were “far more complex than anticipated”, but DRDO scientists had overcome several “design issues” after tests in Russia. DRDO’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Program, which had led to nuclear-capable missiles like Prithvi and Agni, was progressing well, he said.

Both nuclear-capable missiles had been inducted into the army, and Sunday’s test of the Agni-II, which has a range of over 2,000 km, was meant to validate the army’s capability to launch the missile.

Aatre said DRDO had trained army personnel in maintaining and launching the missiles and Sunday’s test was the first one that directly involved the army in the launch of the Agni-II.

The Agni-III, which has a range of over 3,000 km, will “soon” be tested for the first time, Aatre said, but refused to set a date for the launch. He said his successor, M. Natarajan, who assumed office yesterday, would make a decision on the launch of Agni-III.

Ray

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=35701

‘India to tie up with Israel, US for e-warfare systems’

The Financial Express
Posted online: Thursday, September 02, 2004 at 0243 hours IST
Updated: Friday, September 03, 2004 at 1454 hours IST


New Delhi, September 1: India will be collaborating with Israel and the US to develop nano-materials and hi-tech components needed for electronic warfare systems.


The outgoing chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), VK Aatre said that India had decided to launch joint programmes with Israel in the field of electronic warfare, where both countries were on an equal footing.

“Israel is very strong in sensors and packaging. We would like to work on fibre-optic gyros and micro-electromechanical systems,” Dr Aatre told mediapersons shortly before retiring as DRDO chief on Tuesday.

Responding to questions on co-operation with the US in defence research, he said the two sides had done some work on life sciences and would launch joint programmes on developing nano-technology and nano-materials. India and the US currently have a joint technical group to oversee collaboration in defence research.

Asim Aquil

Man all this US-tech going into the hands of the Indians. On one hand the US is like we won't support Pakistan or India in their conflicts. We won't give them all this tech. But then they give it to the Israelis who give it to the Indians. What a world. Why waste the fuel, just give it to the Indians directly! Such odds Pakistan has to face!