Rafael promo riles Indian armed forces

An Indian Air Force (IAF) officer said, "While it can be seen as funny - perhaps a humorous parody, it's likely to hurt the sensitivities of many people. Maybe Rafael should have thought of this before producing something like this."

T he video produced by Israeli has not been received well by the Indian armed forces. The video’s popularity grew phenomenally after it was reported on and posted by StratPost.

One Indian Army officer told StratPost, “Is this any way to market arms? Who will buy from you if you do this sort of thing?”

An Indian Air Force (IAF) officer said, “While it can be seen as funny – perhaps a humorous parody, it’s likely to hurt the sensitivities of many people. Maybe Rafael should have thought of this before producing something like this.”

The video had been viewed 133,161 times at the time of writing and has evoked mixed reactions. There are those who are appreciative of the humor the video generates, whether inadvertent or not as well as people who have considered this insulting to India and have been appalled by the production.

The army officer also asked, “Does Rafael really need to do this kind of advertising?”

Israel’s share of India’s defense market has been growing with some reports indicating it to have overtaken Russia as India’s top arms supplier.

India is already buying the SPYDER missile system built by Rafael. DRDO and Rafael in an approximately $ 2.5 billion joint project are to develop medium range and long range surface-to-air systems.

That India already considers Israel an important military partner is apparent from the fact that the government has refused to blacklist either Israeli Aircraft Industries or Rafael for alleged corruption in the Barak I deal.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Follow Saurabh Joshi on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/saurabhjoshi Saurabh is a journalist based in New Delhi, India who has worked in print, television as well as internet news media. Besides defense and strategy, his past assignments have included reporting from Kashmir, coverage of terror strikes as well as election coverage from all over India. He has a Bachelors degree in Journalism (Honors) as well as a law degree (LLB), both from the University of Delhi.

China launches Asia’s largest helicopter

The move marks the official approval for the 13-tonne AC313, Asia’s largest helicopter, to enter the market, said the Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), which developed and manufactured the helicopter. The company says the AC313 is also world’s first civil helicopter to receive an A-category airworthiness certificate at an altitude of 4,500 meters.

Share

Fake cadet nabbed from NDA campus

Fake cadet Anmol Banotra was found when authorities at India’s tri-service, National Defense Academy, realized that there was a cadet more than their regular count. He was arrested on Wednesday.

Share

Mirage jets to get new missiles in $1.23 bn deal

French firm MBDA will supply 450 MICA interception and aerial combat missiles as part of the second phase of plans for upgrading the Mirage fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF). India had last July signed a $2.4 billion deal with French defense firms Thales and Dassault for upgrading the Mirages.

Share

Army’s artillery buy in a confused mess

In the background of these challenges and the defence ministry’s inaction on a decision to blacklist the Singapore-based company, the OFB mandate should not become an excuse for lack of movement on the procurement of artillery by the army. Already, the ministry has been reported to have indicated it cannot move on the procurement as the matter is sub judice. At the same time, it has not decided the issue either, as is evident from the observations of the court. This has held up the acquisition of crucial types of artillery again, after the multiple cancellation of tenders since the Bofors buy.

Share

Letter on army chief my personal opinion: Amarinder

In a clarification issued here after it was reported that Former Punjab chief minister, Amarinder Singh had favored correcting the birth records of the army chief in a letter to letter he wrote to Defense Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony, the state Congress president said he had written the letter about a month ago putting forth his “opinion on the issue” only in his “personal capacity”.

Share

Iran warns US battleship to keep out of Gulf

Iran’s military leadership Tuesday warned a US aircraft carrier to keep out of the Persian Gulf. The warning from army commander Major General Ataollah Salehi comes after a 10-day Iranian naval exercise ended in the Strait of Hormuz.

Share
View in: Mobile | Standard