Israel and India are deepening a defense and strategic partnership that former Israeli officials say now extends far beyond arms sales to include water technology, trade corridors and shared efforts to shape regional strategic trends.<\/span><\/p>\n In June, Israeli Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram led an official delegation to India and held high-level meetings with India\u2019s defense minister, defense secretary, chief of defense staff and other senior Ministry of Defence officials to discuss expanding bilateral defense and industrial cooperation.<\/span><\/p>\n Meir Ben Shabbat, Israel\u2019s former national security adviser, who now heads the Misgav Institute for National Security, told JNS in recent days, \u201cFrom Israel\u2019s point of view, deepening relations with India has supreme strategic importance and the potential for significant impact on the state\u2019s security, economic and political resilience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Describing India as a stable anchor for Israel in Asia, given its status as the world\u2019s most populous country, Ben Shabbat listed several pillars underpinning the relationship, beginning with India\u2019s role as Israel\u2019s top defense customer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIndia is the largest customer of the Israeli defense industries, which finances research and development essential for the IDF,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n He also pointed to intelligence sharing on Islamist terrorism and border security, as well as the diplomatic value of diversifying beyond the West.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cStrengthening ties in Asia reduces Israel\u2019s exclusive dependence on the support of Western and European countries,\u201d Ben Shabbat said, adding that joint production of weapons systems with India helps secure Israel\u2019s supply of raw materials and components during emergencies.<\/span><\/p>\n Ben Shabbat also framed the relationship within a broader geopolitical structure, connecting Israel to a wider network of partners across Asia and the Gulf.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe partnership between Israel, India, the United States and the United Arab Emirates creates a powerful economic-strategic corridor connecting Asia, the Middle East and Europe, with the potential to connect additional countries,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n He also described India as an enormous market for Israeli civilian technology.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIndia offers immense business potential for Israeli cyber, communications and civilian technology companies,\u201d Ben Shabbat said, crediting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with advancing the relationship throughout the war.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe friendship of Prime Minister Modi and his policy toward Israel throughout the entire war period has made a significant contribution to the tightening of relations between the countries and peoples,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Micky Aharonson, former head of the foreign relations directorate of Israel\u2019s National Security Council in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office and now a partner at 6H Ventures, a national security-focused investment fund, told JNS that framing the Israel-India relationship solely in terms of weapons sales understates its scope.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTo say that we\u2019re talking about just security issues is to dramatically diminish the relationship, and when we talk about the relationship we need to talk not about security but about national security, which broadly means military and security matters plus what I call the ability to preserve sovereignty,\u201d Aharonson said, defining sovereignty in terms of agriculture, water and food security.<\/span><\/p>\n She noted that India faces severe climate pressures, including water shortages.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIsrael is considered a world leader in desalination, wastewater purification and irrigation technologies,\u201d said Aharonson, arguing that these capabilities are no less important than the military equipment discussed during the Israeli delegation\u2019s visit in June.<\/span><\/p>\n She pointed to the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) as a central strategic project tying the relationship together.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe idea was to connect India through the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel to Europe, in the direction of Greece\u2014and it\u2019s not just about a rail line, it\u2019s also about pipelines, fiber-optic cables and other infrastructure. It\u2019s a critical project for the State of Israel,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Aharonson warned, however, of a rival route under discussion running from Iraq through Syria that could undercut Israel\u2019s position, describing the initiative as a substantial strategic threat.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe chance that it won\u2019t happen is mainly because Syria is a state in ruins, and good luck to them dealing with all the militias, but otherwise the Turks very much want to do this, with the encouragement of American envoy Tom Barrack,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Aharonson also cited I2U2\u2014the economic and technology framework linking Israel, India, the United Arab Emirates and the United States\u2014as an underappreciated pillar of the relationship. The grouping was launched in October 2021 during a virtual meeting of the four countries\u2019 foreign ministers.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not less important than weapons, and it\u2019s even more important\u2014food security, water, renewable and green energy, transportation, supply chains,\u201d she said, noting that agricultural parks have already been established in India under the framework\u2019s water and irrigation cooperation.<\/span><\/p>\n On the threats driving India toward Israel, she identified China as paramount.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey have military confrontations on the shared border in the Himalayas. India fears what is known as the \u2018string of pearls\u2019\u2014China\u2019s ports and bases that are slowly closing in around India, in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Djibouti,\u201d Aharonson said, adding that Pakistan, Islamist radicalization by groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the vulnerability of Indian Ocean shipping lanes are additional concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n During the June visit, the Defense Ministry released a statement by Baram saying, \u201cIndia is a key strategic partner of the State of Israel. A bond rooted in shared values, deep cultural appreciation, and mutual trust that goes well beyond mere interests. That is what makes this partnership unique, and the joint projects we are advancing together all the more meaningful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Globes<\/i> reported on Feb. 15, citing Forbes India<\/i>, that Israel and India agreed to arms deals worth $8.6 billion this year, including Rafael\u2019s SPICE 1000 precision-guided bombs, Elbit Systems\u2019 Rampage air-to-surface missiles, Israel Aerospace Industries\u2019 Air Lora air-launched ballistic missiles and Rafael\u2019s Ice Breaker missile system.<\/span><\/p>\n Globes<\/i> noted that India has been Israel\u2019s largest defense customer for years, accounting for 34% of Israeli arms sales between 2020 and 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Total sales during that period reached roughly $20.5 billion, according to Israel\u2019s Defense Ministry International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT).<\/span><\/p>\n India has also signed multiple major contracts with Israel Aerospace Industries to purchase the naval and ground-based Barak 8 air-defense systems, with a combined value of more than $3 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n Aharonson said India serves as a valuable complement\u2014not a substitute\u2014to Israel\u2019s alliance with Washington. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think India is a substitute, but India is a very, very significant reinforcement. It doesn\u2019t need to be a substitute; it needs to be one of the club,\u201d she said, arguing that Israel benefits from a broader coalition of democratic, productive partners so that if ties with one weaken, others can help offset the loss.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em> Israel and India deepen defense ties as arms deals expand past $8 billion Yaakov Lappin Former officials tell JNS the relationship now extends far beyond weapons sales into technology, supply chains and shaping regional strategic trends. Israeli Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram meets with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[33,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132883"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132883"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132973,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132883\/revisions\/132973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u2018The idea was to connect India\u2019<\/b><\/h4>\n
The \u2018string of pearls\u2019<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n
\n![](\"https:\/\/static.jns.org\/dims4\/default\/c73a489\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1320x1320+0+0\/resize\/100x100!\/format\/webp\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk2-prod-jns-prod.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F09%2FYaakov-Lappin-cropped-1.jpg\")
Yaakov Lappin<\/strong> is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He is the in-house analyst at the Miryam Institute; a research associate at the Alma Research and Education Center; and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He is a frequent guest commentator on international television news networks, including Sky News and i24 News. Lappin is the author of Virtual Caliphate: Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet. Follow him at: www.patreon.com\/yaakovlappin.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
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<\/a>Israel and India deepen defense ties as arms deals expand past $8 billion<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nYaakov Lappin<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nFormer officials tell JNS the relationship now extends far beyond weapons sales into technology, supply chains and shaping regional strategic trends.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.jns.org\/dims4\/default\/3c217a0\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1320x743+0+185\/resize\/1000x563!\/format\/webp\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.jns.org%2F0c%2F11%2F60edb35d400fae7ec8f0314a659a%2Fph1.jpg\")
Israeli Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram meets with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, June 22, 2026. Credit: India Ministry of Defense.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n