Israeli defence major Rafael Armament and Tata Group mull defence JV

A report appearing in Israeli business online magazine Globes, says that Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd, a Israeli defence major, is in talks with Indian conglomerate, the Tata Group, on the setting up of a joint venture in defence.

The report says that the two sides raised the issue during the sixth biennial Aero India 2007 aerospace & defense exhibition at Yelahanka in Bangalore.

Tata is one India's largest business concerns with 96 subsidiaries engaged in a wide range of activities.

According to the report, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata visited the Rafael exhibition booth during the Aero India exhibition and met with Rafael CEO Maj. Gen. (ret) Yedidia Yaari and other senior executives. It also says that the meeting followed a series of meetings between Rafael executives and senior Tata executives.

Collaboration with Rafael is likely to provide the Tata Group access to technologies of a wide range of defense systems. According to the report, Rafael has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons and control and monitoring systems to the Indian Army, as of date.

The report says that the two sides are also on the verge of signing a $270 million sale of Rafael's Spyder medium and short-range advanced anti-aircraft systems. The system incorporates two Rafael missiles, the Derby active radar beyond visual range (BVR) missile and the Python 5, dual band imaging infrared (IIR) missile.