India cancelled $500 million deal of missiles with Israel

Israel, jan 04: A top Israeli arms firm on Wednesday confirmed that India has cancelled a $500 million deal to develop Spike anti-tank guided missiles and expressed "regret" over the decision just ahead of PM Benjamin Netanyahu's first visit to the country.

"Rafael has now received an official notification from India's Defence Ministry concerning the cancellation of the Spike deal," Ishai David, a spokesman for the Rafael Advance Systems Ltd said.

Spike, in use by 26 countries around the world, was selected by India after a long and rigorous process and after complying with all the defence procurement regulations.

"It should be emphasised that the cancellation was made prior to the signing of the contract and despite Rafael's compliance with all the demands," the company said in a statement.

"Rafael regrets the decision and remains committed to cooperating with the Indian Ministry of Defence and to its strategy of continuing to work in India, an important market, as it has for more than two decades, to provide India with the most advanced and innovative systems," it added.