New Delhi: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit India before the September 17 general elections in Israel, will endorse Modi government’s scrapping of Articles 370 and 35A in Kashmir and support the bilateral resolution of issues between India and Pakistan, the diplomats said.
The agenda also includes the acquisition of two more Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) and extended range air to air Derby missiles by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and joint projects in agriculture, water and waste management.
The air force is looking towards the acquisition of extended range Derby air-to-air missiles from Israel after Pakistan used 70 km AIM-120 C 100 kilometre beyond visual range missiles against Indian jets in its February 27 retaliation to the Balakot strike. IAF wants to integrate the 70-kilometre range Derby missiles on the Su-30 MKI platform with upgraded radar equipped with a data link to take the fight to Pakistani F-16s in future.
India is also planning to order two Phalcon AWACS mounted on Russian A-50 platform (worth $2 billion) for better control of the war theatre.
India and Israel are together developing the short, medium and long-range surface to air missiles in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Israel has also mastered the technology of converting seawater into potable water with desalination projects in Ashkelon and Hadera through reverse osmosis. And therefore, PM Modi is looking towards his Israeli counterpart to dispense high-end technologies to manage waste as well as provide potable water to each home.
