India-Israel Defence Synergy Strengthens at MRSAM Eco-System Summit 2.0

Senior officials from the MoD presided over the inaugural session, offering a high-level perspective on India’s defence posture.

The Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), in strategic collaboration with Aerospace Services India (ASI) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), successfully convened the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) India Eco-System Summit 2.0 on May 7, 2025, at the iconic Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. This pivotal one-day summit marked a significant milestone in strengthening India’s indigenous air and missile defence capabilities, in alignment with the national imperatives of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the Make-in-India vision.

Uniting India’s Defence Powerhouses

The summit was a confluence of India’s top defence stakeholders, drawing representation from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Indian Armed Forces, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), and numerous leading private defence manufacturers. The event served as a crucial platform to reaffirm the collective commitment of both public and private sectors towards self-reliance and technological excellence in defence manufacturing.

Senior officials from the MoD presided over the inaugural session, offering a high-level perspective on India’s defence posture. The gathering featured addresses by key industry leaders, who emphasized the deepening strategic cooperation between India and Israel and the growing technological interoperability between both nations.

Highlights from the Summit Sessions

The summit was thoughtfully structured around several high-impact sessions, each aimed at driving India’s missile defence capabilities into a new era of autonomy and sophistication:

• Panel Discussions on Operational Readiness: Experts from the armed forces, DRDO, and industry deliberated on current and future challenges in deploying medium-range air defence systems. Emphasis was placed on operational readiness, indigenous production, and rapid capability enhancement.

• Technology Demonstrations: A standout feature was the showcase of ASI’s AI-powered defence service management platform, STORMS (Smart Technology-Optimised Readiness & Maintenance System). The system is engineered to streamline life-cycle management of defence platforms through predictive maintenance, digitised workflows, and real-time analytics.

• Industry Engagement Forums: Interactive sessions facilitated dialogue between Indian OEMs, MSMEs, and global defence innovators, focusing on co-development opportunities, supply chain integration, and scaling up localised manufacturing infrastructure.

Celebrating the ASI-IAI Collaboration

A central focus of the summit was the evolution of the ASI-IAI partnership, especially its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, which plays a pivotal role in delivering technical representation, end-to-end life-cycle support, and localized manufacturing for the MRSAM system, also known for integrating the advanced BARAK 8 missile and Air Defence Fire Control Radar (ADFCR).

This collaboration has not only elevated India’s missile defence landscape but also contributed to critical knowledge transfer, job creation, and long-term capability development within India’s defence sector. The subsidiary’s performance was lauded for enhancing strategic autonomy and facilitating smoother in-country maintenance and upgrades.

A Vision for Future-Ready Air Defence

Speakers and participants unanimously echoed the need to develop a resilient and future-ready air defence infrastructure, which is agile, digitally enabled, and capable of addressing emerging threats. Discussions also revolved around integrating cyber and electronic warfare resilience into missile systems and fostering academic-industrial partnerships for innovation in critical subsystems.

Through continued trilateral cooperation, capacity building, and sustained R&D investments, the summit concluded with a resounding message: India is poised to become a global hub for cutting-edge missile defence systems, driven by indigenous capability and international collaboration.

The MRSAM Eco-System Summit 2.0 reinforced not only the operational achievements of the Indian defence ecosystem but also set a strong roadmap for the future of India's air defence strategy—self-reliant, technologically superior, and globally competitive.