$500 mn Israeli Spike ATGM Deal Cancelled: Let’s Ask The Real Questions Here

The Indian Ministry of Defence has cancelled a $500 million deal with Israel for Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM). The price negotiations for this deal were completed last year with Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and it was just short of being inked. In anticipation of this deal, Rafael, in a joint venture with Kalyani Group, had even set up a missile subsystems facility in Hyderabad in August this year. This was to be the first private missile subsystems unit in India. In a reversal of the strong trend towards privatization, the MoD has asked the Defence Research and Development Organisation to develope and produce a Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) for the Army. This decision came after an experts committee was constituted in June 2016 for review of the evaluation report of this deal and to see possibilities of producing these missiles indigenously. The committee was constituted by the then Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar after price negotiations for this deal were over.

This is a surprising reversal of trend also in the context of Indo-Israel relations given that the impetus of transfer of defence equipment and technology from Israel to India is heavy. Between 2010-2016, India’s imports of Israeli arms was more than those of all of global north combined. This strong trend comes with a whole set of problems starting from corruption to political and ideological questions. The case history of Barak 1 Missile Systems gives a good glimpse of the corruption story.

The NDA government in 2000 signed, amongst others, a deal for seven Barak anti-missile systems for $199.50 million and 200 missiles from Rafael for $69.13 million. These missiles systems were a joint production of Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael. Eventually businessmen, Naval officers and BJP leaders including the then defence minister George Fernandes were implicated in a corruption case investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation regarding this missile system deal. It was revealed that the DRDO, at the time of the deal headed by late ex-President APJ Abdul Kalam, had opposed this deal right till the end and pushed for the indigenous Trishul system. While IAI was still under investigation, the UPA government signed another deal with it. DRDO was brought into a joint development deal with IAI for air defence missiles when the former already had superior technology for it, a move questioned by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at every step.

Both UPA and NDA regimes have shown a near-dedication to bring in Israeli defence technology and equipment at any cost (or, at a heavy cost). The Barak missile case is a clear example of how the public defence sector and its interests were set aside to bring in the Israeli technology. However, reports say that in the expert committee on the Spike ATGM deal, the opinion of the DRDO prevailed even as the army claimed it was in crucial need of these missiles. How has suddenly the interest of DRDO and indigenous, public defence sector prevailed when it was scuffled and pushed back not too long ago?

IAI has been mired in serious cases of corruption aside from the Barak missile deal. In March this year, Israeli Police arrested thirteen people including a former senior Israel Defense Force officer who is on the IAI's board of directors, as well as IAI employees and staff of private companies that provide services to it. Charges range from fraud, money laundering, summarized by Israeli Police as “systematic criminal conduct, deep corruption.” IAI seniors are accused of rigging bidding processes in favour of the firms also named in the case, in exchange of bribes. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, is himself embroiled in a series of corruption cases, ranging from accepting gifts from tycoons to bribery, fraud and breach of trust in a €1.5 billion deal for German naval vessels.

With the growing friendship between Netanyahu and Modi, the so-called Israeli expertise has been propped up in all sectors from agriculture to surveillance to defence. Not that these proximities between India and Israel are new, but there is an ideological unity between the present regime in India and Israel. It is no wonder that home minister Rajnath Singh was “greatly impressed” by border security system deployed by Israel in Gaza and the government was considering the installation of Israel type fencing on Indo-Pak border. Gaza is an open-air prison, a humanitarian crisis in making, under Israeli siege for the last ten years and target of routine bombings and massacres. To be “greatly impressed” by Israel’s security system in Gaza is nothing short of cruel.

The ideological connection between India and Israel has the veneer of technology which Israel seems to be ever ready to provide to India. Prime Minister Modi visited Israel in July 2017, becoming the first Indian PM to do so. Netanyahu is set to visit India in January 2018. India has long forgotten its support to the Palestinian cause. Despite the Israeli defence establishment being mired in corruption cases right up till Prime Minister Netanyahu, India is its biggest arms importer and has the biggest share in keeping the financial incentive for Israel to continue its military repression of Palestinians. It is important to remember that this cancelled deal is only an aberration and defence deals with Israel are otherwise going on. What then has brought a sudden pause in this growing ideological and technological alliance, and not to forget the ‘missed opportunity’ of the first private missile subsystems facility in India? We cannot connect the dots if we do not demand more transparency in the functioning of our government and defence establishments.

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