A key weapon in Ukraine’s military arsenal, the shoulder-fired Javelin anti-armor weapon, might soon be co-produced in India if ongoing talks between New Delhi and Washington are successful. During a recent visit to India by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the two countries discussed various joint production proposals, including Javelin anti-tank missile systems for the Indian Army.
The Javelin, produced by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, is a 46-pound, shoulder-fired weapon capable of penetrating any tank or mobile vehicle on the battlefield, and it can also down helicopters. The Indian Army has been seeking shoulder-fired ATGMs for almost a decade, and if discussions proceed, a local partner will be identified to establish a manufacturing plant in India.
Operated by a two-soldier team, the Javelin fires a heat-seeking missile with a range of up to 2.5 miles. Known as a “fire and forget” system, it allows soldiers to seek cover immediately after firing. The Javelin is named for its ability to strike tanks from above, like a spear, and can also directly target low-flying helicopters.
To address its anti-armor weapon needs, the Indian Army acquired Spike ATGMs from Israel in 2020 to counter Chinese aggression. Recently, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Army test-fired a man-portable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) system at the Pokhran field firing range in Rajasthan.
On April 14, 2024, the Indian Ministry of Defence announced that the MPATGM system—comprising missiles, a tripod-mounted command launch unit, a target acquisition system, and a fire-control unit—was field-evaluated in various configurations to validate its technology.
The Pentagon has supplied more than 10,000 Javelin systems to Ukraine, where experts believe the weapon significantly helped Ukrainian light infantry against Russian mechanized forces. The FGM-148 Javelin costs about $176,000 each. In August 2023, Lockheed Martin announced plans to nearly double Javelin production from 2,100 to nearly 4,000 units per year by 2026.
India and the US are discussing several joint defense projects. Previously, EurAsian Times reported a proposal to co-produce Stryker armored vehicles in India after an initial off-the-shelf purchase via the Foreign Military Sales route. However, none of these deals have been finalized yet.
Indian company Larsen and Toubro has partnered with France’s MBDA to develop missiles and weapon systems in India, including fifth-generation anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM5s), missiles for coastal batteries, and high-speed target drones. The prototype, showcased as ATGM-5 at DefExpo in Chennai, will be produced in India with complete technology transfer.
The Indian Army is actively enhancing its firepower to counter threats from both its eastern and western borders. In June 2023, it issued a Request for Information (RFI) for acquiring 5,000 fire-and-forget missiles and 500 launcher systems to be mounted on license-built BMP-2/2K ‘Sarath’ Infantry Combat Vehicles. The RFI specifies that the ATGMs should support top and direct attack modes, with the capability to penetrate at least 650 mm rolled homogeneous armor equivalent (RHAe) and explosive reactive armor (ERA).
Currently, the Indian Army uses the French-made MILAN 2T ATGM for light anti-armor warfare, capable of destroying targets up to 2 kilometers away. Another widely used system is the Russian-made 9M133 Kornet ATGM, which targets heavy armor. The Army also maintains a large stockpile of the 9M113 Konkurs system, known in NATO circles as the ‘AT-5 Spandrel’.
Additionally, India has developed an indigenous third-generation ATGM called Nag, which employs infrared homing and millimetric wave active-radar homing technologies. Nag has three versions: a vehicle-mounted version (based on the Namica launcher), a heliborne version (HeliNa), and a man-portable version (MP-ATGM).
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