Israel and India deepen defense ties as arms deals expand past $8 billion

India has been Israel’s largest defense customer for years, accounting for 34% of Israeli arms sales between 2020 and 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

By Yaakov Lappin, JNS

Israel and India are deepening a defense and strategic partnership that former Israeli officials say now extends far beyond arms sales to include water technology, trade corridors, and shared efforts to shape regional strategic trends.

In June, Israeli Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram led an official delegation to India and held high-level meetings with India’s defense minister, defense secretary, chief of defense staff and other senior Ministry of Defense officials to discuss expanding bilateral defense and industrial cooperation.

Meir Ben Shabbat, Israel’s former national security adviser, who now heads the Misgav Institute for National Security, told JNS in recent days, “From Israel’s point of view, deepening relations with India has supreme strategic importance and the potential for significant impact on the state’s security and economic and political resilience.”

Describing India as a stable anchor for Israel in Asia, given its status as the world’s most populous country, Ben Shabbat listed several pillars underpinning the relationship, beginning with India’s role as Israel’s top defense customer.

“India is the largest customer of the Israeli defense industries, which finances research and development essential for the IDF,” he said.

He also pointed to intelligence sharing on Islamist terrorism and border security, as well as the diplomatic value of diversifying beyond the West.

“Strengthening ties in Asia reduces Israel’s exclusive dependence on the support of Western and European countries,” Ben Shabbat said, adding that joint production of weapons systems with India helps secure Israel’s supply of raw materials and components during emergencies.

Ben Shabbat also framed the relationship within a broader geopolitical structure, connecting Israel to a wider network of partners across Asia and the Gulf.

“The partnership between Israel, India, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates creates a powerful economic-strategic corridor connecting Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, with the potential to connect additional countries,” he said.

He also described India as an enormous market for Israeli civilian technology.

“India offers immense business potential for Israeli cyber, communications, and civilian technology companies,” Ben Shabbat said, crediting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally with advancing the relationship throughout the war.

“The friendship of Prime Minister Modi and his policy toward Israel throughout the entire war period has made a significant contribution to the tightening of relations between the countries and peoples,” he said.

Micky Aharonson, former head of the foreign relations directorate of Israel’s National Security Council in the Prime Minister’s Office and now a partner at 6H Ventures, a national security-focused investment fund, told JNS that framing the Israel-India relationship purely around weapons sales understates its scope.

“To say that we’re talking about just security issues is to dramatically diminish the relationship, and when we talk about the relationship, we need to talk not about security but about national security, which broadly means military and security matters plus what I call the ability to preserve sovereignty,” Aharonson said, defining sovereignty in terms of agriculture, water, and food security.

She noted that India faces severe climate pressures, including water shortages.

“Israel is considered a world leader in desalination, wastewater purification, and irrigation technologies,” Aharonson said, arguing that these capabilities are no less important than the military equipment discussed during the Israeli delegation’s visit in June.

Aharonson pointed to the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) as a central strategic project tying the relationship together.

“The idea was to connect India through the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel to Europe, in the direction of Greece—and it’s not just about a rail line; it’s also about pipelines, fiber-optic cables, and other infrastructure. It’s a critical project for the State of Israel,” she said.

Aharonson warned, however, of a rival route under discussion running from Iraq through Syria that could undercut Israel’s position, describing the initiative as a substantial strategic threat.

“The chance that it won’t happen is mainly because Syria is a state in ruins, and good luck to them dealing with all the militias, but otherwise the Turks very much want to do this, with the encouragement of American envoy Tom Barrack,” Aharonson said.

Aharonson also cited I2U2—the economic and technology framework linking Israel, India, the United Arab Emirates and the United States—as an underappreciated pillar of the relationship. The grouping was launched in October 2021 during a virtual meeting of the four countries’ foreign ministers.

“It’s not less important than weapons, and it’s even more important—food security, water, renewable and green energy, transportation, and supply chains,” she said, noting that agricultural parks have already been established in India under the framework’s water and irrigation cooperation.

On the threats driving India toward Israel, she identified China as paramount.

“They have military confrontations on the shared border in the Himalayas. India fears what is known as the ‘string of pearls’—China’s ports and bases that are slowly closing in around India, in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Djibouti,” Aharonson said, adding that Pakistan, Islamist radicalization by groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the vulnerability of Indian Ocean shipping lanes are additional concerns.

During the June visit, the Defense Ministry released a statement by Baram saying, “India is a key strategic partner of the State of Israel. A bond rooted in shared values, deep cultural appreciation, and mutual trust that goes well beyond mere interests. That is what makes this partnership unique, and the joint projects we are advancing together all the more meaningful.”

Globes reported on Feb. 15, 2026, citing Forbes India, that Israel and India agreed to arms deals worth $8.6 billion in 2026, including Rafael’s SPICE 1000 precision-guided bombs, Elbit Systems’ Rampage air-to-surface missiles, Israel Aerospace Industries’ Air Lora air-launched ballistic missiles and Rafael’s Ice Breaker missile system.

Globes noted that India has been Israel’s largest defense customer for years, accounting for 34% of Israeli arms sales between 2020 and 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Total sales during that period reached roughly $20.5 billion, according to Israel’s Defense Ministry International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT).

India has also signed multiple major contracts with Israel Aerospace Industries to purchase the naval and ground-based Barak 8 air-defense systems, with a combined value of more than $3 billion.

Aharonson said India serves as a valuable complement—not a substitute—to Israel’s alliance with Washington.

“I don’t think India is a substitute, but India is a very, very significant reinforcement. It doesn’t need to be a substitute; it needs to be one of the club,” she said, arguing that Israel benefits from a broader coalition of democratic, productive partners so that if ties with one weaken, others can help offset the loss.

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