India may revive missile megadeal with Israel – military

The Indian Army and the government are discussing ways to revive a $500 million order to buy Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel’s state-owned defense contractor Rafael, according to military chief Bipin Rawat. India recently called off the deal to procure 8,000 missiles, souring the buildup to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit this week, AFP reports. Rawat said Friday the deal was scrapped after the state-run Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) offered to manufacture similar missiles in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. The DRDO missiles are yet to be tested and will not be ready till 2022, which could hit India’s operational capabilities in the interim, Rawat said.