The defence delegation’s visit was of crucial importance to Israeli defence firms, whose fortunes had come to rely heavily on Indian orders. The world’s largest importer of military ware by the second decade of the twenty-first century, the Indian military accounts for almost 50 per cent of Israel’s foreign military sales. India has placed over Rs 60,000 crore worth of orders with Israel’s defence and space firms starting in 1999, when Israel had quickly and quietly assisted India in the Kargil war.
