Indian military planners are considering purchasing Israeli or Russian ballistic missiles to counter developments in Pakistan’s missile arsenal, Defense News reported today (see GSN, March 31).

The Indian Defense Ministry has been involved in discussions with Israeli and Russian export officials for several months, Indian military officials said.  They added that an Indian Army artillery team is scheduled to visit both countries this week for demonstrations of two missile systems.  Ultimately, India could purchase as many as 36 Israeli or Russian missiles for as much as $800 million, Defense News reported.

The Russian missile system being considered by Indian defense officials is the Iskander-E — a solid-fueled, single-stage missile with a range of 280 kilometers and capable of carrying a payload of up to 480 kilograms, according to an Indian defense source.  The missile is deployed on a land-mobile launcher that is capable of carrying two missiles. 

India is also considering purchasing the Israeli-made Long Range Artillery (LORA) system, which has a range of more than 300 kilometers depending on the type of warhead used, the source said.  The LORA system is capable of carrying a payload of up to 600 kilograms.  Israel, however, has not yet approved a possible sale of the system to India, and the LORA system is not included in an annual catalogue of defense exports published by the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Sibat Arms Export Bureau, according to Defense News.

A recently retired Israeli general has said that the export of the LORA system would not violate the Missile Technology Control Regime, which seeks to prevent ballistic missile proliferation by establishing common export control laws among members.  The regime restricts the exports of missile systems and technology capable of delivering a 500-kilogram payload more than 300 kilometers.  While Israel is not an MTCR member, it has said that it abides by the regime’s restrictions, Defense News reported.

U.S. officials and some nonproliferation experts have warned that India’s possible purchase of Israeli and Russian missiles could further destabilize relations with Pakistan.

“This will have to be viewed in Washington and in the international community as a bright red line, particularly if these missiles are mobile and solid-fueled,” said Theresa Hitchens, vice president of the Center for Defense Information.  “It will force Pakistan to make some kind of countermove,” she said (Opall-Rome/Raghuvanshi, Defense News, Sept. 22).

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