India signs pact with US to buy Javelin anti-tank missile systems

India and the United States on Friday entered into a government-to-government agreement for its procurement for the Indian Army, the US Mission in India said in a press release. "The United States welcomes the Indian Army’s signing of a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for the purchase of the Javelin anti-tank guided missile system through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process," the US Mission said in its press note. “This agreement reflects a defence partnership that is growing deeper, more capable, and more consequential,” said U.S. Ambassador Sergio Gor. He further added, “The Javelin agreement demonstrates the depth of U.S. support for the Indian Army and creates new opportunities for our defence industries to work together. We see tremendous potential for future cooperation that strengthens the defence industrial bases of both countries.”
The pact marks India’s formal entry as a customer of the famed shoulder-fired weapon even as both countries work towards its eventual joint production in India. The US Embassy & Consulates in India, in a statement, said that the Indian Army had signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the purchase of the Javelin.The Javelin can engage targets from approximately 65 metres to 4 kilometres under most operational conditions.
The Javelin weapon system is a shoulder-fired anti-armour system that automatically guides itself to the target after launch, allowing the gunner to take cover and avoid counterfire. Javelin was developed and produced for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps by the Javelin Joint Venture between Lockheed Martin in Orlando, Florida, and Raytheon in Tucson, Arizona.It came into existence in 1994, and its fire-and-forget capability provides superior survivability by enabling the operator to immediately relocate after firing.
The announcement from the US Embassy comes almost a year after both countries signed a 10-year Defence Framework, including growing efforts to expand defence-industrial collaboration. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency last year announced the sale of the Javelin to India via a notification, stating that the US State Department had approved the sale of 100 FGM-148 Javelin rounds; one Javelin FGM-148 missile, fly-to-buy; and 25 Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units (LwCLU) or Javelin Block 1 Command Launch Units (CLU), apart from simulation rounds, battery coolant units, interactive electronic technical manuals, Javelin operator manuals, lifecycle support and a few other items.