The United States has officially given the go-ahead for Israel to sell the Phalcon airborne radar system to India.

"We've been discussing this potential sale with Israel for several years, and in the past we have expressed concern that heightened tensions between India and Pakistan made the transfer inadvisable. Recent developments in the region have eased those concerns," a state department official said on Monday.

The US had in principle supported the sale to India about two years ago. However, in early 2002, Washington asked Israel to postpone the sale because of Indo-Pak tensions.