Israel-India Defense: The $8.6 Billion Relationship

Israel signed roughly $8.6 billion in finalized defense deals with India for 2026 alone, making Israel India's second-largest arms supplier after France. The relationship runs from a co-developed missile system already deployed across India's army, navy, and air force to an Indian factory building Israeli-designed drones under license, and it was tested for real in a shooting war in May 2025. Here is the actual scale and shape of it.

The Headline Number: $8.6 Billion for 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jerusalem on February 25, 2026, in a visit that put defense procurement at the center of the agenda. Indian media reported deal estimates in the $8 billion-$10 billion range in the run-up to the visit, and a Forbes India report subsequently put finalized 2026 arms deals at approximately $8.6 billion, a figure that would make Israel India's second-largest defense supplier behind France. The visit built on a November 2025 memorandum of understanding signed during Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh's trip to Israel, and was followed months later by a visit from Amir Baram, director general of Israel's Ministry of Defense, to New Delhi to push joint development and co-production further.

Barak-8: The Missile System Already in Service

The relationship's anchor program is the Barak-8 medium-and-long-range surface-to-air missile system, co-developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation. The original contract, signed in 2017 and described at the time as the largest military deal Israel had ever signed, was worth close to $2 billion; combined naval and ground-based Barak-8 contracts have since grown to more than $3 billion, and the system is now inducted across the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force. India also fields Israeli-origin Heron and Searcher drones, in continuous ISR use along the Line of Control with Pakistan and the Line of Actual Control with China since the mid-1990s, plus Israeli-built Phalcon radar mounted on Russian IL-76 airframes for its AWACS fleet.

The Adani-Elbit Factory in Hyderabad

A distinctive feature of the current relationship, and a break from the pure buyer-seller model of the 2000s and 2010s, is domestic manufacturing. Adani Defence & Aerospace, part of the Indian Adani Group, builds Elbit Systems' Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance drone under license in Hyderabad, marketed in Indian service as the Drishti-10 Starliner, giving India persistent surveillance capability over the Line of Actual Control manufactured on Indian soil rather than imported. The arrangement followed India's post-2017 "Make in India" defense-localization policy, which had cooled the pace of pure import deals for several years before Israeli firms began establishing Indian subsidiaries and joint ventures starting around 2024 to keep growing inside the new rules rather than around them.

Battle-Tested in 2025: Operation Sindoor

The relationship stopped being theoretical in May 2025, when India and Pakistan fought a short conflict following Pakistani use of Turkish drones and Chinese-made PL-15 long-range air-to-air missiles against Indian targets. In India's response, branded Operation Sindoor, Indian forces deployed Israeli-origin Rampage air-to-ground missiles alongside Harpy and Harop loitering munitions against targets in Pakistan. The exposure of Indian vulnerabilities in drone defense, missile defense, and cyberwarfare during that conflict is what Israeli and Indian officials cite as the direct catalyst for the scale of the 2026 deal package, on top of lessons both governments drew from Israel's own multi-front war since October 2023.

What's Being Discussed for the Next Layer

Beyond delivered systems, talks are underway to extend Indian air defense with pieces of Israel's own multilayered shield: potential integration of Iron Dome- and Iron Beam-type capability alongside India's existing Russian S-400 batteries and indigenous Akash system, plus interest in IAI's Arrow exo-atmospheric interceptor and Rafael's David's Sling. None of these have converted into signed contracts as of the 2026 estimates, unlike Barak-8, Heron, and the Hermes 900 line, which are operational. Also under discussion or already in early delivery: Rafael's SPICE 1000 precision-guidance kits and a large expected order for additional Hermes 900 units beyond the existing Adani-Elbit production run.

One Israeli defense-establishment view of the relationship, offered by analyst Yael Aharonson, frames India less as a replacement for Israel's US alliance than as a hedge: a second serious partner that lets Israel's defense-export base survive a slowdown with any single buyer. Risks on the Israeli side of the ledger include the country's own wartime production constraints, which have raised concerns in Indian defense circles about whether Israeli firms can maintain delivery schedules and spare-parts flow to India while simultaneously supplying the Israeli military's own active operations.

The History Behind the 2026 Number

Israel-India defense sales grew exponentially between 2012 and 2017, culminating in the original Barak-8 naval contract and cumulative Israeli sales to India of roughly $10 billion over the preceding fifteen years, according to Indian media tallies at the time. Growth cooled between 2017 and 2023 as India's domestic-manufacturing push absorbed some of the deal flow that previously went straight to imports. The pattern shifted again after India's 2020 border clashes with China at Galwan, which triggered emergency Indian procurement of Heron drones and Spike anti-tank missiles, and shifted further still after the 2025 Pakistan conflict, setting up the scale of the 2026 Modi-visit package.

The Map, at a Glance

• 2026 finalized deals — approximately $8.6 billion (Forbes India), Israel's largest annual figure with India to date.
• Barak-8 — IAI/DRDO co-developed MR-SAM/LR-SAM, in service across Indian Army, Navy, Air Force; combined contracts exceed $3 billion.
• Hermes 900 / Drishti-10 Starliner — built under license in Hyderabad by Adani Defence & Aerospace with Elbit Systems.
• Heron, Searcher, Phalcon — long-serving ISR backbone since the mid-1990s.
• Combat use, 2025 — Rampage missiles, Harpy and Harop loitering munitions deployed in Operation Sindoor.
• Under discussion, not yet contracted — Iron Dome/Iron Beam-class systems, Arrow, David's Sling integration into India's layered air-defense architecture.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the 2026 Israel-India defense deal worth?

Approximately $8.6 billion in finalized 2026 arms deals, according to a Forbes India report, making Israel India's second-largest arms supplier after France.

What is Barak-8?

A medium-and-long-range surface-to-air missile system co-developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, deployed across India's army, navy, and air force, with combined contracts exceeding $3 billion.

Does India manufacture any Israeli-designed weapons domestically?

Yes. Adani Defence & Aerospace builds Elbit Systems' Hermes 900 drone under license in Hyderabad, marketed in Indian service as the Drishti-10 Starliner.

Were Israeli weapons used in the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict?

Yes. India deployed Israeli-origin Rampage missiles and Harpy and Harop loitering munitions during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.

Is Israel selling India Iron Dome or Arrow?

Not yet under signed contract as of the 2026 estimates. Integration of Iron Dome- and Iron Beam-class capability, plus IAI's Arrow interceptor and Rafael's David's Sling, is under discussion alongside India's existing S-400 and Akash systems.

Sources

Jerusalem Post, Israel-India defense deal estimates around Modi's Feb. 2026 visit; JNS, Israel-India arms deals expand past $8 billion; The Wire, India-Israel military partnership; The Wire, Baram visit and joint production roadmap; Sea and Job, India's planned Israeli drone and missile purchases; The Squirrels, "$8.6 Billion Lifeline" explainer on the Adani-Elbit JV; OpIndia, systems under discussion ahead of the Modi visit.