By The Diplomat | Created at 2026-09-30 16:37:00 | Updated at 2026-09-30 22:20:50
12 hours ago
“BIG news! India plans to buy the battle-tested Javelin anti-tank system,” U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor announced on X on August 28, as the Indian Army signed the letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for the purchase of the missile system through the foreign military sales (FMS) route, also adding that it’s opening the door to “co-production possibilities.” For the Indian Army, it marks 16 years of ups and downs and the long lead time to fill a critical capability gap in anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), even if only piecemeal.
The Javelin is a versatile, one-man-portable and platform-mounted fire-and-forget anti-tank precision weapon system that is capable of defeating all kinds of armor and fortified positions. It is in service with more than 25 countries, including the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps.
Following this, Lockheed announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and the Javelin Joint Venture (JJV), a partnership between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, for the “co-production of the Javelin All Up Round (AUR) in India.” The MoU will explore establishing a final assembly and integration facility for the Javelin AUR, along with component production capabilities, in India, Lockheed said in a statement.
While the specifics of the LOA haven’t been released yet, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notification of November 2025 said that India would purchase 100 Javelin rounds and 25 launch units at an estimated cost of $45.7 million.
The entire saga can be viewed through two prisms: the deepening India-U.S. defense cooperation, and India’s rickety military modernization epitomized by the Javelin saga.
The Quest for ATGMs
The nearly 1.3 million-strong Indian Army started looking for a new generation fire-and-forget ATGM in the early 2000s to replace the Konkurs and Milan in service. The overall requirement is for over 40,000 missiles to equip the 382 infantry battalions and 44 mechanized regiments. However, as the indigenous effort by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) was delayed, the Army started looking for import options to partly fill the deficiency.
In August 2010, Defense Minister A. K. Antony informed the Indian parliament that his ministry proposed to issue a letter of request to the U.S. government for procurement of the Javelin ATGM along with transfer of technology under their FMS route. After the issue of the letter of request, further procurement-related necessary action will follow, he added.
The Army’s first experience with the Javelin came in 2009 during the bilateral exercise Yudh Abhyas, where the U.S. Army fielded it and so, was under consideration. While it was extensively tested, the deal didn’t move forward due to U.S. technology transfer limitations. This was when the Army moved to acquire the Spike ATGM manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel.
The Spike Journey
The Defense Acquisition Council, the highest decision-making body on procurements in the Ministry of Defense, accorded initial approval for procurement of Spike in 2009 for over 8,000 missiles and 300 launchers with technology transfer for their domestic manufacture, a deal worth $500 million. It was approved in October 2014, but the contract negotiations went into a loop over cost and technology transfer.
In fact, in 2016, in anticipation of the deal and to meet the domestic manufacturing requirement, Rafael set up a joint venture with Kalyani Group to manufacture sub-assemblies, with defense public sector firm Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) being the system integrator. The deal was cancelled in January 2018, just ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to India visit, as it was felt that indigenous development was making progress. However, the deal was revived soon after, by the end of 2018, for the purchase of 170 launchers, 4,500 missiles and 15 simulators. This too dragged on for a few years but never came to fruition due to questions being raised over the missile’s performance during the validation trials.
All through this, the Javelin was never fully out of the picture.
After the Balakot air strike in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terrorist attack and simmering tensions with Pakistan, the Army procured a small number of Spike-LR (long-range) ATGMs under the emergency procurement route sanctioned by the MoD to fill critical deficiencies. The order was for 12 launchers and around 250 missiles. The Army repeated the order for the Spike-LR in 2020 in another round of Emergency Procurement sanctioned after the standoff with China along the disputed border at Ladakh.
Orders were capped at 3 billion Indian rupees, valued at $42 million in 2019. The Spike-LR, a 4th-gen missile with a range of up to 4 kilometers, is a different variant from the one originally tested. This remains the only new generation ATGM inducted by the Indian Army in the whole period.
Given the long and convoluted procurement process, emergency procurement has become the preferred way to fast-track critical procurements.
India-U.S. Defense Industrial Cooperation
The Javelin deal, which emerged out of growing India-U.S. bilateral defense and strategic cooperation, is one of the earliest defense deals between the two countries and the one that dragged on the longest.
Incidentally, the Javelin was also tested in 2024 along with Stryker infantry combat vehicles. However, the performance of the missile was sub-optimal as the lot provided for trials was dated. While the Stryker deal drags on, Operation Sindoor in 2025 reinforced the deficiencies.
The Javelin deal strengthens the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership and also opens discussions on mutually beneficial co-production and additional opportunities to strengthen the defense industrial bases of both countries, a U.S. Embassy statement said. The local manufacture of assemblies and parts of the Javelin fits into the overall deepening of India’s presence in the supply chains of U.S. companies manufacturing components and sub-assemblies.
TASL itself is now a major player in this segment with a series of tie-ups with U.S. defense majors. For instance, with Boeing, it manufactures fuselages, secondary structures and vertical spar boxes for AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, and vertical fins for 737 aircraft; and fixed wings for Lockheed Martin’s C-130J and F-16 aircraft. Such integration of Indian industry over the last two decades has positioned the U.S. as India’s top defense export destination.
While India has significantly increased its defense procurements from the U.S., the effort for co-development and co-production has had no real success to date. The crown jewel of that effort, the license manufacture of the GE-414 jet engine domestically to power the Light Combat Aircraft-Mk2, has been stuck for several years now.
Though small as a system, the Javelin is high in its battlefield impact and will be a step forward in the joint endeavor. That this was announced amid the current turbulence in the India-U.S. relationship showcases the distance travelled by the two countries on the defense and strategic front.
Acquisition of the Javelin too is through the Emergency Procurement route that limits the numbers that can be purchased. The larger requirement of the Indian Army for ATGMs remains unfulfilled.
An ATGM is a critical battlefield weapon whose importance has grown manifold since its utility was underscored in Ukraine and other conflicts. While the Indian armed forces look at niche and emerging technologies, procurement of several other such basic but critical systems are caught in a loop. This merits immediate attention and action even as India keeps Operation Sindoor rolling and prepares for the next round of confrontation with Pakistan.
While development of the indigenous man-portable ATGM by DRDO has made progress, the timelines are still long. Coupled with evolving threats, this Javelin deal is likely the first of many.
