India’s military is ranked fourth in the world. As one of the world’s leading defence powers, with a strategic vision extending far beyond its borders, India is advancing its defence capabilities, enhancing self-reliance, and becoming a major global exporter of military systems.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) fully support India’s vision and has been a trusted partner in this journey working alongside Indian defence organizations to develop, produce, and sustain cutting-edge military technologies. Through collaborations, IAI has partnered and invested in India’s ability to design, manufacture, and support world-class defence solutions.
Sharing Visions
We at IAI believe, that India’s defence industry is undergoing a remarkable transformation, driven by policies such as “Make in India” and Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India). The country is focused on building a robust domestic defence manufacturing hub, increasing its technological edge, and positioning itself as a key player in global security. India’s defence ambitions reach far beyond its borders, strengthening collaborations with global allies, securing international trade routes, and engaging in Arctic security.
IAI fully embraces this approach, ensuring that its cooperation with India goes beyond supplying advanced systems—it is about building local capabilities, transferring knowledge, and supporting India’s long-term defence objectives.
Building a Strong Foundation
A relationship is the foundation of building a strong nation. To effectively support India’s self-reliance goals, IAI follows a three-pronged process that ensures sustainable growth in local defence production, innovation, and long-term support:
Wholly Owned Companies
IAI operates through wholly owned subsidiaries in India that provide direct support, maintenance, and system upgrades for its deployed technologies. These companies also contribute to develop local manpower and technical skills, ensuring India’s armed forces to receive fast, efficient, high-quality service for their sophisticated weapon systems. This localized support improves operational readiness, shortens turnaround times, and creates a highly skilled workforce, strengthening India’s defence industry for the long term.
Examples include ASI, an IAI subsidiary of Systems, Missiles and Space, which supports the MRSAM program, and HELA, an IAI subsidiary of Elta Systems that provides local assistance to advanced surveillance and electronic warfare capabilities.
Joint Ventures
IAI has established JVs with leading public and private sector companies in India to enable joint development, local production, technology transfer, and expertise sharing. These partnerships ensure that Indian companies acquire knowledge of advanced defence systems efficiently and develops the capability to manufacture and sustain them independently. A key example is IAI’s JV with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), BIA, which serves as a single point of contact for MRSAM systems, in-use by the Tri-services and streamlines procurement and support for them.
IAI also partners with Indian firms acting as the prime contractor while IAI contributes technology and expertise. This structure enables participation in large-scale Indian defence projects fully aligned with government policies.
Fostering Innovation
Beyond large-scale defence projects, IAI is actively investing in India’s startup ecosystem. To accelerate defence innovation, the company launched NUESPHERE, a startup incubator and accelerator designed to nurture local innovations into emerging defence technologies. This initiative builds on similar innovation centres established by IAI in Israel and the USA.
In partnership with GHV (Green House Ventures), NUESPHERE is driving cutting-edge research and development, allowing Indian startups to collaborate with global defence experts. By mentoring and supporting Indian entrepreneurs, IAI is helping to create next-generation defence technologies, further strengthening India’s self-reliance.
A Springboard for International Growth
India’s defence self-reliance strategy extends beyond its own military needs. The country is rapidly becoming a global exporter of advanced defence systems, supplying allies with locally produced equipment. IAI fully supports this vision and is actively helping India scale its defence industry to reach international markets. Through technology transfers, local production, and expanded supply chains, IAI contributes to India’s goal of building a world-class defence manufacturing ecosystem.
Looking Ahead
IAI’s relationship with India is built on trust, reliability, and long-term cooperation, standing together in the hour of need. IAI is deepening its engagement to support India’s evolving moderation needs. Through local manufacturing, advanced technological collaboration, and long-term sustainment programs, IAI ensures that India’s defence forces benefit from state-of-the-art systems, outstanding support, and seamless technology transfers.
During the upcoming Aero India 2025 exhibition, IAI will showcase some of its most advanced technologies and announce new collaborations, reinforcing its commitment to India’s long-term success.
Jai Hind Jai Bharat!
