New Delhi: Israeli defence companies are seeking to expand their footprint in India, including having more tie-ups with local firms while also setting up possible manufacturing plants and increasing their sourcing from here, ThePrint has learnt.
Multiple Israeli sources told ThePrint that capacity building is a big focus area for Israel given the conflict it is in with regard to the Hamas, the Hezbollah, Iran and, now, in Syria.
Incidentally, Israel’s military has already started sourcing from India. In May, Spain had refused port call to a Danish-flagged merchant vessel carrying one such consignment from India to Israel.
“It would be naive to assume that Israeli companies, even without the government’s directions, are not increasing their sourcing from India or looking at expanding their footprint in India. India is an important partner for us and offers multiple opportunities,” a source said, regarding the new dynamics of defence partnership between the two countries.
Meanwhile, it is not just sourcing as the Israeli companies are also looking at setting up innovation centres in India.
For example, the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) launched its NeuSPHERE Innovation Acceleration Program in India last month. This is the second such IAI initiative, after the previous was launched in Washington earlier this year.
The NeuSPHER programme aims to provide a platform for Indian deep-tech startups to co-create cutting-edge innovation, accelerate their growth and expand globally.
IAI’s NeuSPHERE Innovation Acceleration Program focuses on the Indian technology startup community, in particular inventive deep-tech startups focusing on big data, signal and image processing, advanced navigation systems, AI and autonomy, XR-maintenance and training, green energy, advanced production, quantum, edge computing, Human Machine Interfaces, and wearable technology.
“We see India as a super power and someone who does a lot of focus on technology and looking for new things. Given IAI is a global company with a wide portfolio, we want to partner with young Indian start-ups and see them grow. Accelerating can benefit both,” Brig. Gen. Eytan Eshel (retd.), Executive Vice-President of Technology, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), R&D and Innovation of IAI, told ThePrint.
He underlined that NeuSPHER is not a venture capitalist firm but more like a partner.
About what kind of stake the IAI will take in the Indian start-up and who will own the intellectual property rights, he said, “We are seeking a very limited amount to express our willingness to support them along the way. We are focused on technology”.
Talking about IP rights, he said it will rest with the Indian start-up though the IAI will have “some rights” to use it.
“The IP rights will be the young Indian company. We will have some rights in order to use it. This is why we take a very limited equity to show that we have an interest in this company to flourish and go their way. We are not venture capital but more as a partner and trying to ensure the company succeeds,” he said.
Eshel said that they are looking to fund very young companies, which are in pre-seed stage of funding, and hence the amount allocated could range from a few tens of thousands of dollars to about 100,000 dollars.
Meanwhile, the IAI has already expanded its footprint in India in terms of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities for ELTA systems, acquired by it last year.
Founded in 2004, HELA Systems of ELTA delivers comprehensive support for radar systems, including top-tier field services and advanced D-level repair capabilities for various radar units.
“This is the first MRO we are opening now. We started in 2004 in Hyderabad for manufacturing and repair. In 2023, the IAI acquired this company and we decided to start a new MRO to increase our capacity,” HELA Systems CEO Yaniv Mizrahi told ThePrint.
The MRO facility was also launched last month.
Mizrahi said that while the company has about 80 engineers spread across India to give on site customer support to Indian clients, they are hiring more to meet new requirements.
He said that today major modules of systems go to Israel for repair but the plan is to do everything here. “We are now trying everything in India. This will reduce the turnaround time for our customers.”
He added that with this new India registered venture, they will be able to get annual maintenance contracts from the tri-services directly. “We will now get AMC contracts directly from customers. These contracts will be in Rupee. Earlier, ELTA and IAI in Israel used to get the orders, which were then routed to us. We have already got two big request for proposals (RFPs) from two customers,” he said.
With this launch, he said, we are demonstrating our dedication to supporting India’s strategic needs through world-class radar solutions, empowering local professionals and fostering innovation.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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Both Israel and India are ancient cultures. Both face similar internal and exterior threats from radical Islam. Hence, they can very well work together. Jews were and are welcome in India. India is a safe place for them without any form of anti-Semitism. In fact, the dwindling number of Jews in India is a loss for its pluralism. That can be offset by having more industrial interaction with Israel.