Reliance Defence to form venture with Israel's Rafael

Reliance Defence, a part of the Anil Ambani-led group, on Tuesday said it is forming a joint venture in India with Rafael of Israel for air-to-air missiles, air defence systems and large aerostats, with a seed capital of over Rs.1,300 crore.

"The strategic partnership with technology power house and one of the world leaders in defence technologies, Rafael Advance Defence Systems will mark the entry of Reliance Defence in the complex field of air-to-air and air defence systems manufacturing in India," a company statement said.

"The joint venture will give a big thrust into the field of indigenous production and development of high precision and state-of-the-art weapon systems in India," it said. Reliance and Rafael will have 51:49 holding in the venture as per the current guidelines of the government of India.

The new venture will be located at Dhirubhai Ambani Land Systems Park at Indore in Madhya Pradesh and will generate more than 3,000 highly-skilled jobs. The project will have an initial capital outlay of more than Rs.1,300 Crore, without including the cost of technology.

Rafael has products like Python and Derby in the air-to-air missiles system, Spyder range in air defence systems and the Barak missiles family of surface-to-air missiles in the short and medium range.

"Rafael is also willing to offer solutions through the joint venture even for the ongoing 'buy global' programs where it is currently competing, in line with 'Make in India' initiatives, of the Indian Government," the statement said.

"Based on the current requirements, the joint venture will address multiple programmes valued at more than Rs.65,000 crore over next 10 years."