Mahindra Defence, RAFAEL to Establish JV Specialized in Protection Systems

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From left: Brig (RETD) K.A. Hai Chief Executive, Mahindra Defence Systems, Mr. Anand MahindraVice Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., V Admiral (Retd) Yedida YaariCEO, Rafael, Maj Gen (Retd.) Ilan Biran Chairman, Rafael & Giora Katz- VP GM land & Naval Systems Sector, Rafael. Photo: PR Newswire

Aiming to become a leading defense systems integrator in India, Mahindra & Mahindra has partnered with Israel’s defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, to establish a Joint Venture (JV) company to develop and manufacture products such as Anti Torpedo Defense Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, Advanced Armoring Solutions and remotely operated weapon stations for Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICV).

Rafael offers a line of torpedo countermeasures, designed to protect surface vessels and submarines, using reactive, active and 'hard kill' systems such as the Torbuster. Photo: RAFAEL or active and from active

The company has approached the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for the creation of the JV company, where Indian ownership 74 percent will be maintained. Rafael will make investments in Mahindra’s existing Naval Systems division in Pune which will also be the location of a production facility which will be set up to meet the long-term requirements of the JV company.

Brig (Retd) KA Hai, Chief Executive, Mahindra Defence Systems, said “This JV will enable Mahindra Defence Systems to further leverage its innovative solutions in the maritime domain, enhance its product offerings, and present it with new avenues for growth. We intend to further expand into air, land, and aerospace defence solutions.”

Maj Gen (Retd) Ilan Biran, Chairman of Rafael added: “As part of our global strategy, we form alliances to develop military applications based on our proprietary technologies and in Mahindra we see a lot of synergy and opportunities for growth in new markets and especially in India which is a strategic market for us.”

Rafael has an ongoing dialog with Bharat Electronics Limited, one of India’s largest public sector defense companies, about setting up a joint venture related to electro-optics and missile electronics.

The two partners have been looking for a private company to join the team for sometime, to enable the future JV to be incorporated as a private sector company. The new JV with Mahindra could pave the way for this long awaited ‘BEL-RAFAEL’ marriage.

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Debajit Sarkar has over 8 years experience as a consultant, programmer and business analyst with a diverse background in program and project management, strategic management planning and policy analysis in the Defense sector. He researches Smart Weapons and UAVs and closely monitors the emergence of Artificial Intelligence in the Defense sector. His work has allowed him to investigate how Embedded Systems can be better utilized for Home Automation. He has presented algorithms which compute optimal policies for these timed domains. Currently he works as an Independent Consultant specializing in Smart Weapons and UAV research. In this capacity he successfully delivers business development strategies in the Defense sector and help achieve growth objectives for business enterprises, on a consulting and contract basis. His value proposition is to provide winning client solutions using consultative, and facilitating skills