India buys Israeli weapons post Mumbai

GERTZ:

TEL AVIV -- The insurgency attack at Mumbai is being seen by India as an attack on its ties with the West and was not expected to significantly impact growing defense ties with Israel.

Defense industry sources said India, the largest defense client of the Jewish state, was expected to proceed with plans for major weapons deals with Israel over the next few months.

The sources said New Dehli, despite an attack on a Jewish community center, regarded the purported Al Qaida-aligned offensive as targeting India's ties with the West.

Israeli Phalcon airborne early-warning system on the Russian-origin Il-76 air transport. This is the system which the USA stopped Israel form selling to China

"At this point, there is no indication that business will be anything but usual," an industry source said. "There are expectations of some major deals in the near-term."

The sources said India has been purchasing an increasing amount of Israeli defense and security equipment. In 2007, the sources said, Israel's defense exports to India reached nearly $1.7 billion, about a third of total Israeli weapons sales abroad.

Israel has offered help to India in wake of the attacks on Mumbai, in which at least 200 people were killed, including eight Israelis. At this point, Israel does not intend to send forces to Mumbai, despite a draft agreement in September 2008 for Israeli training of Indian Army commandos in urban warfare and counter-insurgency skills.

"In the framework of our contacts with the Indian authorities, we made it clear that we would be happy to provide any and all information or specific assistance that we might be asked to give," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Nov. 30. "At no stage were the issues of whether or not Israel should join the operation, or do things that were within the power of the Indian government and its strong and trained military to do alone, on the agenda."

The sources said India was examining the purchase of another three airborne early-warning and alert aircraft from Israel. In November, an Indian delegation led by Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, visited Israel and was briefed on the Phalcon AEW system as well as advanced missiles. Singh also toured the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries.

This could mark the second Indian procurement of Israel's Phalcon. In 2004, India signed a $1.1 billion accord for three Phalcon systems, installed on the Russian-origin Il-76 air transport.

The sources said another huge project was a joint Indian-Israeli effort to upgrade the Barak-1 point defense missile system. The government, after a delay of about a year, has approved a $1.5 billion contract with IAI to develop the Barak-2, which would have a larger interception envelope than its predecessor.

"This would be the biggest deal ever signed by an Israeli defense company," a defense executive said.