India's Ministry of Defense has pulled out of talks with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. for the procurement of Spike antitank missiles, the "Indian Express" reports. The deal would have been worth $500 million.
India's Ministry of Defense reportedly prefers the country's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to indigenously develop and produce a Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) for the Indian military, the newspaper added.
Ahead of the planned deal, Rafael had formed a joint venture with Kalyani group for missile production in India. The missile sub-systems manufacturing facility, based near Hyderabad, was inaugurated in August. The deal between Rafael and the Indian Defense Ministry had been expected to be signed after price talks were completed.
Ministry sources told The Indian Express that, "The decision to cancel the deal was based on the consideration that importing a foreign ATGM at this stage would adversely impact the program for indigenous development of the weapon system by DRDO. Earlier, India had also rejected an offer from US-based Raytheon-Lockheed Martin for Javelin ATGM in favor of the Israeli weapon system."
The sources added, "DRDO has successfully produced the Nag and Anamika ATGMs. It is confident about providing the Army with an MPATGM of 3rd generation missile technology, at par with Spike, within three to four years. It won’t also need any transfer of technology."
The imminent deal was part of flourishing Indo-Israel defense cooperation, which has included a $2 billion deal with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) for an advanced defense missile system.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 20, 2017
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