Posted on 03/11/2003 9:25:25 AM PST by anotherview
Mar. 11, 2003
Report: India looking to Israel to supply air defense systems
By THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFF
Faced with mounting threats from its nuclear neighbor, India has turned to Israel to supply it with air defense systems, the Hindustan Times reported Tuesday.
In particular India has sought to buy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance purposes from Israel after indigenous efforts to produce such aircraft yielded no results.
According to the report India recently awarded a $130 million contract to Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) for 18 Heron UAVs, which are expected to be delivered within a year. Orders for 16 more UAVs for the Indian Air Force will be placed by the end of this month.
To support India's UAVs, IAI and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have set up a dedicated division in Hyderabad for maintenance and other services.
The report also said that government-owned design firms in Israel and India are also expanding cooperation in developing New Delhi's planned light combat helicopter
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