IAI enhancing commitment to Make in India in defence: CEO Boaz Levy

IAI president and chief executive officer (CEO) Boaz Levy and IAI Air and Missile Defence Division vice-president & general manager Dror Bar speak about their strategy for India

Aerospace and defence major Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) opened its Indian subsidiary AeroSpace Services India (ASI) in New Delhi on Wednesday. The company, which trades in Indian rupees, will be a part of the Centre’s Make-in-India initiative. IAI president and chief executive officer (CEO) Boaz Levy and IAI Air and Missile Defence Division vice-president & general manager Dror Bar, in an interview with Bhaswar Kumar in New Delhi, speak about their strategy for India. Edited excerpts:

How does ASI fit into your India operations?   

Levy: The opening of ASI is a strong demonstration of IAI's commitment to the central government's Make-in-India (Aatmanirbhar Bharat) vision. It also shows IAI's commitment to its partnership with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). ASI is IAI's sole authorised technical representative for the entire Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) system, which is used by the Indian army, air force, and navy for air and missile defence. ASI's facility in New Delhi's Aerocity will minimise the time taken to provide the right solutions for the armed forces. 

ASI’s origins go back to October 2022, when the first announcement regarding the subsidiary was made at the DefExpo 2022. With more than a year having passed since then, what are your plans for ASI now? 

Levy: One of the most well known defence projects India and Israel have worked on together is the MRSAM, which was not only produced but also designed through a joint effort between IAI and DRDO. Building on this success, IAI is moving onto a new chapter in its India operations with ASI. Going forward, we will be collaborating with Indian authorities and vendors on many projects to bring India's defence capabilities to the highest level. 

IAI signed a deal in July last year to acquire HELA Systems Pvt Ltd, an Indian subsidiary of Israel's ELTA Systems Ltd. Taken together with ASI's opening, what will your strategy for India be? 

Levy: To move forward with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making India self-reliant, IAI needs to build a local structure that will meet all of the country's new requirements. The way IAI will do that is to build a structure of numerous Indian companies. That is what we are doing. Apart from ASI, IAI is working with another company for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). IAI acquired HELA Systems. We are also entering into numerous joint ventures (JVs) in India. All of this will lead to a structure, where each branch will give the right answers in a particular technological realm. For example, HELA is an expert in radars. All these capabilities will be integrated at ASI's New Delhi office.   

Can you elaborate on these JVs? 

Levy: IAI is continuing its efforts for a JV between ASI and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). We are also in the process of doing the same with Elcom Systems Pvt Ltd for UAVs. JVs with large local vendors like BEL, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and the Adani group is IAI's preferred route in India. Since IAI's capabilities span a vast number of sectors, our philosophy is that we need to join forces with local vendors we believe in. We also have some other JVs in the pipeline, but it is too premature to speak about them now.   

What are IAI's defence projects in India? 

Levy: IAI is now working on significant collaboration with HAL for UAVs. IAI believes that the outcome of this could be a UAV produced jointly with HAL. 

Any other projects apart from UAVs... 

Bar: IAI is looking at projects for the Indian Navy. All its future frontline warships will hopefully be equipped with the MRSAM system. The new ships equipped with this system will be plugged into a common network. They will be capable of operating as a unified task force. IAI is also involved in future programmes for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army. 

How large is IAI's vendor ecosystem in India? 

Levy: While IAI is in touch with more than 200 companies in India, our ecosystem comprises around 70 companies that we are working with. IAI is also conducting research in India to develop technology together. The first leg of this journey was the agreement IAI signed with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, about two weeks ago to collaborate on applied research. 

Coming to some hard numbers... 

Levy: IAI is proud that it has fulfilled all its offset obligations of almost $2 billion in India. Under its India strategy and with ASI's opening, IAI is looking at an investment of over $100 million, going forward. 

What has the Centre’s Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 meant for IAI? 

Bar: IAI understands that these are the rules of the game in India. IAI has not been forced to do this. Instead, we accept the policy and are proud to be partners of the Make-in-India initiative. We feel at home with DAP 2020.