Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) said Wednesday it had won a $777 million (680 million euro) order from India to buy defence systems for its navy.

The deal with India's state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited to supply the marine version of the Barak 8 air and missile defence system for seven more warships follows a $630 million (551 million euro) order placed last year.

State-owned IAI, Israel's largest defence firm, said worldwide sales of the Barak 8 system now totalled more than $6 billion.

Israel is among the world's top arms dealers, with nearly 60 percent of its defence exports going to the Asia-Pacific region, according to Israeli defence ministry figures.

Russia is still by far India's largest arms supplier. During a visit last week, President Vladimir Putin won an order for the S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system, worth $5.2 billion according to an Indian source.

But as the United States has imposed sanctions on countries buying Russian military hardware, India has sought to diversify its suppliers.

Washington and New Delhi announced plans last month for joint military exercises in 2019 and the United States is now India's second-biggest supplier.

In April last year, Israel won 1.6 billion euros of orders from India, which it hailed as its largest ever arms export deal.

"It constitutes further proof that security is an investment not an expense," Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said of Wednesday's deal.

"Israel Aerospace Industries is a pillar of the nation that we must conserve and strengthen," he added, recalling his opposition to proposals for partial privatisation of the firm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a "groundbreaking" first ever visit by an Indian premier to Israel in July last year to cement growing defence ties.

Related Links
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Lockheed Martin Delivers 300th THAAD Interceptor
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 12, 2018
Lockheed Martin has delivered the 300th interceptor for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, the only system in the world designed to intercept threats both inside and outside the atmosphere. The production maturity milestone comes as demand for the company's hit-to-kill missile defense system and interceptors continues to grow. "The Missile Defense Agency, industry and Lockheed Martin team of men and women who engineer and produce the THAAD interceptor have remained steadfast i ... read more