India, US discussing co-production of Javelin anti-tank missiles

The discussions on the joint production of the missiles took place recently during a high-level visit from the US to India, defence sources told ANI.

India and the US have been discussing expanding their cooperation, including joint production of military equipment. Sources said the requirement of the Army for the latest anti-tank guided missiles is quite significant and the force had to acquire a limited number of Israeli Spike ATGMs under emergency procurement to meet its requirements.

The requirement for third-generation ATGMs has been there for a long time and attempts to acquire the weapon systems through a global route have not been successful.

The work of acquiring the ATGMs through the Indigenous route is ongoing, as the Defence Research and Development Organisation is also going to carry out trials of its Man-Portable Anti Tank Guided Missile (MP-ATGM) soon to meet the requirements of the Army, the defence officials said.

The Indian MPATGM Weapon System has been field evaluated in different flight configurations several times with the objective of proving the technology's superiority.

The system consists of the MPATGM, Launcher, Target Acquisition System, and Fire Control Unit.

The Indian forces are looking at shoulder-fired missile systems that are less in weight and can be carried in difficult terrain by troops without engaging too many of them to carry it, the sources said.

The sources said the Indian partner for joint production of the missile system would be identified at a later stage, as discussions have just started. The American side had earlier also showcased the capability of the Javelin missiles to the Indian side but the project did not materialise.

Javelin is developed and produced jointly by American defence majors Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.

The missiles have been sold to various partner countries by the US and have seen action in multiple past and ongoing conflicts. (ANI)