Indien unterzeichnet IAI-Tankflugzeugvertrag über 1,1 Milliarden US-Dollar – Bericht | Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) hat mit Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) einen Vertrag über den Umbau von sechs Boeing 767-Flugzeugen in Tanktransportflugzeuge abgeschlossen, berichtet „Defense News India“.

India reportedly signed a deal worth about $900 million to $1.1 billion with Israel Aerospace Industries and India’s HAL.

The deal is to convert six Boeing 767 planes into air-refueling tanker aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

India chose this option instead of buying new Airbus or Boeing tankers because it is cheaper and fits Modi’s “Make in India” policy, which pushes more defense work to be done inside India.

The aircraft conversions are expected to help replace India’s old Ilyushin-78 tankers, with deliveries planned to start around 2030.

The article also says this is another sign of growing defense cooperation between India and Israel, especially through IAI, which already works with India on air defense systems, drones, missiles, and aircraft conversions.

It is also interesting that this deal comes after Israel showed, once again, its ability to carry out long range strikes as far as Iran. The irony is that since Israel’s inception, its enemies have repeatedly forced it to become more innovative, more independent, and more militarily capable, and in the process, they have helped make both Israel’s defense industry and economy more robust.