Israel Concludes Long-Delayed Missile Deal with India

Warship firing a Barak missile.

(The Tower) A long-delayed missile deal between Israel and India has been completed, according to a report in Ha’aretz yesterday,

The purchase deal was approved by India’s cabinet committee on security matters, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the Times of India.

Under the plan, India will take delivery of 262 Barak 1 missiles over the course of about five years, starting in December of 2015. These will be deployed on the country’s 14 battleships, which have suffered from dwindling missile supplies in recent years, according to the Indian navy.

Ha’aretz describes the deal as “as a significant step by the new government in India; one which could advance diplomatic relations as well as military ties” with Israel. The current deal is estimated to be worth $144 million. Israel is also currently developing the more advanced Barak 8 missile in collaboration with India.

Modi’s election this May as prime minister of India was viewed as a harbinger of stronger ties with Israel. Since diplomatic ties between the two countries were established in 1991, trade has boomed and now exceeds $6 billion annually. When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Modi last month in New York, Netanyahu said that “the sky is the limit” for ties between the two nations.