Why trust and tech define the next phase of India Israel ties - analysis

The annual strategic dialogue between the directors general of the Israeli and Indian defense ministries, held in New Delhi on November 4, has reaffirmed the growing maturity and institutional depth of the India-Israel partnership.

This year’s dialogue coincided with the official visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to India’s capital, underscoring the growing synchronization between political diplomacy and defense-industrial collaboration.

These parallel engagements reflect a partnership that has moved beyond ad hoc coordination toward a strategic architecture integrating industry, technology, and doctrine.

Baram described the discussions as taking place “at a critical juncture for both nations,” emphasizing that their relationship is based on mutual trust, shared security interests, and technological convergence. Beyond ceremony, the dialogue demonstrated how the two defense ecosystems are learning to think, innovate, and build together.

Historically, India-Israel defense relations have been measured by the number of contracts signed or the sophistication of Israeli systems exported to India. That metric is giving way to something broader: a co-creation model.

This year’s annual dialogue highlighted an evolving framework for industrial and technological collaboration, linking Israel’s combat-proven innovation culture to India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat (“Self-reliant India”).

Israel’s defense industries – from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to Elbit Systems and niche innovators – already maintain joint ventures and licensed production in India. Now, the two countries aim to expand collaboration into early-stage R&D, dual-use technologies, and emerging domains such as AI, cyber defense, electronic warfare (EW), and space systems.

For Israel, this model reduces dependence on exports and embeds its expertise in India’s fast-growing defense ecosystem. For India, it accelerates indigenization without compromising capability.

In essence, the partnership is evolving from procurement to partnership, from products to platforms, and from technology transfer to shared innovation pipelines.

The logic is strategic and familiar. Both nations face multi-dimensional threats that blend conventional and hybrid arenas.

Israel contends with Iran and its regional proxies, while India faces persistent challenges from Pakistan and China, such as cyber intrusions and disinformation campaigns.

May 2025’s Operation Sindoor (the focused neutralization and dismantling of terrorism following a barbaric attack from Pakistan) marked India’s transition toward a proactive deterrence posture, complementing its long-standing No First Use (NFU) nuclear doctrine with calibrated offensive readiness. India’s blend of restraint and readiness has brought its strategic thinking closer to Israel’s emphasis on agility, precision, and preemption within a defensive framework.

Both countries also share a moral deterrence ethos, believing that decisive counterterrorism measures can coexist with technological restraint and ethical legitimacy.

Israel’s integration of AI-based targeting and layered defense resonates strongly with India’s post-Sindoor doctrine of “measured strength.”

A defining feature of the dialogue was the participation of leading executives from both nations’ defense industries.

The CEOs’ roundtable served as a joint innovation forum, with Israeli companies presenting advances in counter-UAS, electro-optics, and naval defense, while Indian counterparts outlined modernization priorities under the “Make in India” and “Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX)” programs.

Participants emphasized that Israel’s agility and India’s scale create a uniquely complementary equation, with advanced modular systems and rapid R&D on one hand and vast production capacity and engineering talent on the other.

Together, the two countries are constructing a competitive co-production ecosystem across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Indo-Pacific.

This synergy benefits from policy continuity in New Delhi, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi now in his third consecutive term. The steady leadership of his national security team provides long-term consistency in defense planning – an essential foundation for deepening institutional ties with Israel.

Such defense-industrial synergy also reinforces wider geo-economic cooperation, most visibly through the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

Despite temporary disruptions as a result of the Israel-Hamas War, IMEC remains a cornerstone initiative for both countries, offering a civilian framework for secure connectivity, maritime infrastructure, and dual-use innovation that complements the defense agenda.

Israel’s defense-industrial and digital expertise align naturally with India’s logistical ambitions to anchor IMEC’s eastern segment. Thus, these frameworks form a twin architecture of strategic interdependence between Jerusalem and New Delhi.

In response to the uncertainty of the 2025 geopolitical landscape, India and Israel are emphasizing localization, diversification, and co-production to protect their collaboration from external disruption.

The parallel tracks of ministerial diplomacy and defense-industrial collaboration – embodied in the Baram-Singh meeting and the visit of Foreign Minister Sa’ar – indicate that both countries are committed to transforming momentum into a sustainable, self-reinforcing partnership.

The next phase of the partnership depends less on ceremonial visits and more on institutional follow-through: developing joint innovation clusters that integrate Israeli and Indian engineers from concept to deployment; embedding Israeli firms in India’s innovation ecosystem via iDEX and ADITI programs; expanding joint training and simulation between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Indian Armed Forces; and leveraging IMEC as a conduit for defense-industrial exports to the Gulf and Europe.

If implemented effectively, these initiatives will convert momentum into structure – and structure into strategic endurance.

The 2025 annual defense dialogue and the parallel diplomatic visit signify India and Israel’s repositioning from regional responders to proactive shapers of the Indo-Pacific and Middle Eastern security environment.

Their shared vocabulary of deterrence, innovation, and trust now underpins an enduring strategic partnership.

For Israel, India is not merely a vast market but also a partner in designing the regional order of the 21st century. And for India, Israel is not just a technology supplier but also a model of doctrinal agility and moral security.

As both nations advance from tactical cooperation to a robust strategic framework, this year’s dialogue is part of an ongoing process through which political vision and defense innovation converge to chart the next chapter of India-Israel relations.