NEW DELHI, 5 September 2003 — India aims to boost its military edge over nuclear-armed rival Pakistan as it races to close a deal with Israel worth more than $1 billion for an airborne early warning radar system.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is due in India on Sunday — the first visit by an Israeli leader in 11 years — and officials say the two sides could sign the contract for the sale of three Phalcon radar systems during the trip.
“There is every possibility of a signing,” an Indian Defense Ministry official told Reuters, but he would not give further details.
On Wednesday, the Indian Cabinet cleared a $1.7 billion deal with Britain’s BAE systems for military trainer planes, ending almost 20 years of on-off negotiations.
The Israeli radars mounted on a Russian aircraft would be the biggest weapons deal since Israel and India established diplomatic ties in 1992, and would bring large parts of Pakistani airspace under Indian surveillance.
Pakistan, which does not have such an advanced “eyes and ears” system, is rattled by the prospect and criticized Israel’s key ally and sponsor the United States for approving the sale.
Indian military experts say the entry of the Phalcon, which is like the US AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems), on the subcontinent will tilt the strategic balance further and force Islamabad to look for equally advanced surveillance gear.
The Phalcon can pick up aircraft, including at low altitude, hundreds of kilometers away in any weather, day or night. It can also intercept and decode radio transmissions, anticipating in many cases the weaponry an enemy might employ.
“This is not a unique capability but it is one that few nations possess and gives a huge war-fighting advantage to any air force that has it,” said Robert Hewson, editor of Jane’s Air Launched Weapons.
“The Phalcon would increase India’s airpower advantage over an opponent such as Pakistan ... by a very considerable margin.”
India, with the world’s fourth largest armed forces, already enjoys a roughly two to one advantage over its much smaller neighbor in ground and air forces.
Indian analysts say the surveillance systems could at some point tempt the military to launch air strikes against militants fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir without fear of retaliation from Pakistan.
New Delhi has resisted the use of air power in Kashmir because it could trigger retaliation.
“But with much of its air space under surveillance, you can pretty much control the skies,” said retired Adm. Raja Menon.
India says camps to train militants fighting its rule in Muslim majority Kashmir exist in Pakistan. Islamabad denies this.
Meanwhile, police will be pulling out all stops to guard Sharon when he visits India next week, as political groups warned of protests against the Israeli leader.
Reeling from a wave of attacks by militants this month, police said they would accord Sharon the same protection as had been extended to then US President Bill Clinton when he visited India in March 2000.
“There will be an unprecedented level of security for the Israeli prime minister’s visit. We are taking no chances,” Joint Police Commissioner Maxwell Pereira, who is tasked with guarding Sharon, told AFP.
The political groups said they would try to block Sharon from paying homage at New Delhi’s Rajghat mausoleum to Mahatma Gandhi, India’s non-violent freedom champion.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) warned it would lead the protests at Rajghat and in the northern town of Agra where Sharon is set to visit the Taj Mahal.
The centrist Janata Dal (People’s Party) said it would hold street protests outside the New Delhi hotel where Sharon and his delegation are due to stay.
“Thousands of protesters will take out a black-flag procession on Sept. 9,” Dal spokesman Kunawar Danish Ali said, referring to a traditional Indian form of protest.
“We want to convey to the world that there is a large section of people in India who still stand with the Palestinians,” Ali said.
India for decades had been a close ally of the Palestinians, treating Israel as a pariah state until Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s government began cozying up to Tel Aviv after coming to power in 1998.
An upscale Delhi hotel, now under a security blanket, has block-booked 140 rooms for Sharon’s entourage.
“We have requested the hotel not to rent out any rooms until the visit is over and its management has agreed,” another senior police official said.
Pereira said traffic would not be allowed on streets leading to the hotel and venues where Sharon would be holding talks with his Indian counterpart. “We will also take care of the rallies,” he said as Israeli security agencies joined the drill.
