Israel concerned over U.S.-India deal

Defense industries fear close security relations between two countries may negatively affect Israeli arms sales to India
Aryeh Egozy

Israeli defense industries fear that the close security relations between the United States and India will negatively affect Israeli arms sales to India, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.

 

The U.S. signed a nuclear deal with India during President George W. Bush's weekend visit to New Delhi, and plans on turning India into one of its arms industries' main export markets.

 

In the past, the U.S. refrained from selling such systems in light of the tension between India and Pakistan. Now, sources in India and the U.S. said, everything is open.

 

So far, India's defense industries have signed deals worth USD 2.5 billion.

 

'Americans eventually responded'

 

A source at Israel's defense industries said Saturday that "the Americans understood Israel is taking a huge market away from them. It took them time to respond, but they eventually did."

 

"From now on it will be much harder to carry out arms deals in India," the source added.

 

In the past few years, Israel sold to India unmanned aerial vehicles, advanced radar systems and various kinds of electronic systems.