India and Israel’s friendship has stood the test of time.
In the early 1980s, even before diplomatic relations were established, Israel had proposed to India a joint operation to bomb the Pakistani nuclear site at Kahuta.
Plans were drawn, aircraft were selected; however, India backed off at the last moment.
Then, in 1999, barely seven years after New Delhi had established diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv, Israel’s timely assistance during the Kargil War proved critical.
Israel’s help at that critical juncture was even more crucial, given that most of the Western countries had imposed sanctions on India following the May 1998 nuclear tests.
Israel provided India with 155 mm mortar shells for Bofors Howitzers, laser-guided precision ammunition, and Litening targeting pods for the Indian Air Force’s Mirage-2000 fighter jets, on an emergency basis.
These weapons helped sustain Indian ground operations and artillery barrages against Pakistan’s entrenched positions at high-altitude and enabled IAF’s precision strikes on Pakistani bunkers without crossing the Line of Control (LoC).
The help Israel provided India during the Kargil War is well known and needs no retelling. It established a robust defense partnership between India and Israel.
However, what is hardly known in India is the crucial military assistance Israel provided to New Delhi during the 2020 standoff with China in the Eastern Ladakh sector. This assistance from Israel was even more significant given that the stakes were even higher for Tel Aviv.
Pakistan has never officially recognized Israel. Also, Israel has few interests in Pakistan.
However, China has not only recognized Israel and established full diplomatic relations, but the two countries also have a robust relationship. Furthermore, China is the world’s second-largest economy.
Israel, therefore, followed a high-risk strategy by deciding to militarily assist New Delhi during one of India’s worst phases with China since the 1967 Nathu La crisis.
The Galwan Crisis
There were already serious tensions between India and China at the LAC in the Eastern Ladakh sector by May 2020.
Then, in June 2020, Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Galwan Valley. Twenty Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troops were killed in the clash, triggering the worst crisis between New Delhi and Beijing in the last five decades.
In the following weeks, thousands of more soldiers were deployed along the LAC by both sides. At many flash points, hundreds of Indian and Chinese soldiers were embroiled in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation.
There were apprehensions that one more minor clash could trigger a full-scale war between the two nuclear powers.
At this critical juncture, Israel supplied India with many weapons systems to be deployed on the LAC on an emergency basis.
Tel Aviv understood that supplying New Delhi with those weapons at that time could have annoyed Beijing; however, Israel was willing to take that risk.
How Israel Helped India Against China During 2020
Amid the 2020 Eastern Ladakh crisis, India accelerated the acquisition and deployment of Israeli Heron TP (Eitan) medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAVs for persistent surveillance along the LAC.
The Indian Army purchased four Heron TP units in 2020 under emergency powers. Israel fast-tracked their delivery.
By March 2022, India began receiving the drones, which were immediately deployed in eastern Ladakh for surveillance and reconnaissance missions along the LAC.
These UAVs provided real-time ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), helping India maintain situational awareness in contested areas along the LAC where Chinese forces had massed troops and infrastructure.
In 2021, the Army had signed a contract to procure over 100 explosives-carrying drones ‘SkyStriker’ to be manufactured by a Bengaluru-based joint venture between Israel’s Elbit System and India’s Alpha Design.
SkyStriker loitering munitions were also used by the Indian Army in “Operation Sindoor.”
Following the Galwan crisis, both India and China had also deployed tanks and armored vehicles along the high ranges of Ladakh.
At one point in August 2020, Indian and Chinese tanks were standing, ready to fire, just a few hundred meters apart.
During this time, at the height of the Ladakh standoff, India approved the emergency procurement of Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs), including the Spike NLOS (non-line-of-sight) variant, from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
The Spike family (especially NLOS with a 50 km range) was deployed to counter Chinese armored and mechanized threats in the rugged terrain of Eastern Ladakh.
These fire-and-forget missiles gave Indian forces a precision edge in high-altitude anti-armor battles against PLA mechanized units.
In 2023, the Indian Army placed another order for an undisclosed number of Israeli Spike ATGMs from Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Pvt Ltd (KRAS), worth Rs 287 crore.
KRAS is a joint venture (JV) established between Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd (KSSL), the defense subsidiary of Bharat Forge Ltd, and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd (Rafael).
KSSL holds a 51 per cent majority stake in the JV, with Rafael owning the remaining 49 per cent.
Amid the tense standoff with China, Israel also supplied the SPYDER Air Defense System.
India also acquired the Rampage supersonic air-to-ground missiles in 2020 under emergency powers granted to the armed forces following the standoff with China in the Galwan Valley.
Rampage air-to-ground missiles have a range of 250 km and have been integrated with Su-30MKI fighters, Jaguars, and MiG-29s. Rampage provided a rapid-response strike option against Chinese forward positions, infrastructure, or high-value targets in Tibet, thanks to its speed and range, making interception difficult.
Notably, while procured under emergency powers in the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clash, the Indian Air Force (IAF) used Rampage missiles for precision strikes inside Pakistan during Operation Sindoor last year.
Reports indicate that during Prime Minister Modi’s state visit to Israel (February 25-26), India may sign a deal to procure additional Rampage missiles.
In July 2020, at the height of the crisis, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Benny Gantz, who offered India full support.
Again, during Operation Sindoor, Israel fully backed India’s right to respond to terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Israel’s help is also crucial for India’s indigenous fighter jet program, Tejas, and multi-layered air defense system, Sudarshan Chakra.
For the Tejas Mk1 variant, Israeli companies have supplied the EL/M-2032 Multi-Mode Radar (Elta Systems), the Litening Targeting Pod (Rafael) for high-resolution electro-optical imagery and precision targeting, the Derby BVR Missile, and the Python-5 AAM (Rafael).
The Tejas fighter jet is also equipped with the Israeli Elbit Systems’ DASH-IV Helmet-Mounted Display System (HMDS). These Israeli systems have been integrated into the 38 Tejas Mk1 fighter jets delivered to the IAF.
Similarly, the Mk1A variant will also feature critical Israeli systems.
The Mk1A variant will feature the advanced EL/M-2052 AESA Radar (Elta Systems), Litening Targeting Pod, Derby and Python missiles, SPICE Guidance Kits (Rafael), and the advanced Elbit DASH-V Helmet-Mounted Display System (HMDS).
India and Israel are also working on joint projects such as Barak-8 MR/LR-SAM.
Israel has stood with India in various military crises, not just against Pakistan, but against China as well.
Israel’s support has been consistent and swift during emergency situations.
It is only fitting that at a time when Israel is facing global isolation due to its war in Gaza, Indian PM Modi has become the first leader from the Global South to visit the country.
Built on mutual trust, both India and Israel are now ready to take the defense partnership to the next stage.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
