Context
India has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) with the United States to procure Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route. The emergency procurement aims to strengthen the Indian Army’s anti-armour capabilities and reflects growing India–U.S. defence cooperation.
Explanation
- Javelin (FGM-148) is a man-portable, medium-range anti-tank guided missile jointly developed in the U.S. by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
- It is primarily designed to destroy main battle tanks, armoured vehicles and fortified positions.
- It is a fire-and-forget missile: after launch, its onboard imaging infrared seeker independently tracks the target.
- Its top-attack mode strikes the relatively vulnerable upper armour of tanks; it can also use direct-attack mode.
- Javelin uses a tandem shaped-charge warhead, designed to defeat armour protected by explosive reactive armour (ERA).
- Its soft-launch system allows firing from confined positions.
- India is procuring the system through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) government-to-government mechanism.
- India was designated a Major Defense Partner of the U.S. in 2016.
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Javelin Missile Deal