Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to begin a five-day visit India on January 14, meeting with top officials in New Delhi to discuss trade, military hardware sales, and global security.
Israeli Military Technology
Ynetnews reports on Unit 3060, a secret group of around 400 soldiers under the Military Intelligence Directorate, that develops new apps and other technologies to help disseminate information in real time to commanders in the field. The Israel Defense Forces modeled Unit 3060 after the culture of civilian startups. Coders with the group showcased two apps: Broadcast Researcher allowing ground units to access past and present image of buildings, and The Kings Way, a routing tool that uses typography and other geographic data.
UVision successfully demonstrated an extended-range loiter system for its Hero-400EC unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A new electric motor enables the drone to carry a 22-pound warhead with acoustic and thermal signatures.
Foreign Military Sales
Rafael publicly confirmed the cancellation of a $1 billion deal to sell India the Spike anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) through a joint venture. Instead, New Delhi plans to develop its ATGW indigenously.
India’s Navy will purchase 131 Barak surface-to-air missiles from a joint venture between Israel Aerospace Industries, (IAI) Rafael and India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) at the cost of $72 million.
Cyprus took delivery of the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Commodore Andreas Ioannides earlier this month. The vessel, built by Israel Shipyards Ltd. in Haifa, is the first OPVs acquired, as the Cypriot Ministry of Defense seeks three more such ships for its fleet.
Regional Developments
Two-hundred U.S. soldiers with the Texas National Guard will deploy to the UN’s Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) mission in Sinai at the end of January for a 9-month rotation.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the White House could significantly cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority. The President tweeted “we pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue … peace treaty with Israel…why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”
