Discuss the three areas of security co-operation between India and Israel.

Diplomatic relations were established in 1992, and Israel is now among India's largest defence suppliers. Cooperation is concentrated in three areas.

Defence technology and co-development. This is the deepest strand, and it has moved from purchase to joint production.

• Air defence: the Barak-8 medium-range surface-to-air missile, co-developed by Israel Aerospace Industries with the DRDO, and its naval and army variants.
• Airborne surveillance: Phalcon airborne early warning radars mounted on Il-76 platforms.
• Unmanned systems: Searcher and Heron series drones, now supplemented by domestic assembly.
• Precision munitions and anti-tank capability, including Spike missiles.
• Manufacturing partnerships under Make in India, including joint ventures for missile subsystems and a drone production facility in Hyderabad.

Counter-terrorism and homeland security. Both states face sustained terrorist threats, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which the Chabad House was targeted, gave the relationship a shared experience. Cooperation covers intelligence exchange, a memorandum on homeland security cooperation, training in border management and hostage response, and airport and critical infrastructure security practices adapted from Israeli models.

Cyber and emerging technology. A cyber security memorandum signed in 2018 provides for cooperation on critical infrastructure protection, and both countries work on surveillance and detection technologies. This strand is also the most politically sensitive, given the controversy in India over commercial Israeli spyware.

The balancing factor. India has kept this relationship compartmentalised from its long-standing support for Palestinian statehood, and its dependence on West Asian energy and remittances sets a limit on how far the partnership can be publicly securitised.