India and Israel formally renewed and broadened their defence cooperation on 4 November 2025 in Tel Aviv, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 17th meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) co-chaired by India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Israel’s Director-General of the Ministry of Defence, Major General (Res.) Amir Baram.
The MoU delineates a shared vision to deepen cooperation across a spectrum of domains including strategic dialogue, military training, defence-industrial partnerships, research & development (R&D), technological innovation, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. The agreement further emphasises co-development and co-production of advanced military technologies—an important pivot from transactional procurement toward joint manufacturing and innovation.
Beyond technology and industry, India and Israel reaffirmed their long-standing commitment to counter-terrorism cooperation, recognising shared security challenges and agreeing to intensify their collaboration in tackling terrorism and related threats. The MoU is positioned to strengthen the bilateral defence architecture, enabling both nations to leverage each other’s expertise—India’s large operational scale and manufacturing aspirations, and Israel’s advanced tech and defence-innovation ecosystem.
For India, the pact aligns with its Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) vision—seeking to expand indigenous defence production and shift from being primarily a buyer to a developer. Indian media reports highlight that Defence Secretary Singh visited leading Israeli companies such as Elbit Systems and Rafael during the week to explore production avenues. For Israel, India emerges as a “key strategic ally” and a major platform for long-term cooperation in defence-industry and innovation, as underscored by Maj. Gen. Baram on his visit to New Delhi.
The MoU also coincides with growing trade and investment links between the two countries. Earlier this year, Israel flagged its intent to finalize an investment-protection accord with India, noting nearly US$4 billion in bilateral trade in 2024. While the defence pact does not publicly enumerate specific procurement deals, sources suggest high-level discussions are underway for tankers and aircraft support, hinting at a possible US$900 million-plus deal for Israel Aerospace Industries to supply and convert aircraft for India.
Analysts view the pact as a strategic upgrade: it moves the India-Israel relationship from operational supply and training into a framework of technology sharing, joint innovation and industrial-base alignment. The focus on AI and cybersecurity signals an awareness that future conflicts will be defined by the digital domain, not just traditional platforms.
Nevertheless, challenges remain. Actualising co-production requires aligning procurement timelines, export-control regimes, supply chains and regulatory approvals in both countries. The “Make in India” ambition, while politically steady, demands significant investment, meaningful technology transfer and scalable industrial capacity. In the Israeli context, navigating third-party restrictions and geopolitical sensitivities will be essential.
In sum, the 4 November MoU marks a significant turn in India-Israel defence cooperation. By embedding tech-industry and innovation pillars into the bilateral pact, both nations signal their intent to build a long-term, deeper strategic partnership—not just in platforms and arms, but in co-creation and shared industries. As they proceed toward project-level agreements and execution, the real test will be whether this elevated framework delivers tangible co-developed capabilities, joint ventures and a measurable jump in defence-industrial output.
