BEL, IAI Collaborate on India's Short-Range Air Defense Systems

State-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) of India and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate in meeting India's needs in the Short-Range Air Defence Systems sector.

The companies did not provide any further details on the collaboration or the roles they would play.

"It (MoU) will empower the Indian industry to make significant contributions towards equipping our forces with state-of-the-art short-range air defence systems," said Bhanu Prakash Srivastava, CMD of BEL.

Earlier this year, IAI signed an agreement with Indian-based Sagar Defence Engineering to jointly develop autonomous weaponized boat swarms for the Indian Navy. IAI has also acquired HELA Systems, an Indian radar and electronic warfare systems provider.