India-US deal: What is the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile system? How will it help India's defence sector?

THE US State Department has approved the sale of the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile system and the M982A1 Excalibur precision-guided artillery munitions worth $93 million to India.

In a notification on Thursday, Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the US State Department has approved the sale of $93 million worth of military equipment.

This is the first time New Delhi has purchased defence equipment from Washington after US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% as punishment for the country's purchases of Russian oil.

According to the DSCA statement, this proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defence partner, which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions.

The agency added that the “proposed sale will improve India's capability to meet current and future threats by providing precision capability equipment, which will increase first strike accuracy in its brigades. India will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”

What is FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile system?

The Javelin missile system is a modern anti-tank guided missile system that is used extensively across the world. It is a single man-portable fire-and-forget medium-range anti-tank weapon system designed to defeat all known and projected threat armour.

Jointly developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, the Javelin missile system is a man-portable, shoulder-launched, fire-and-forget weapon. The Javelin works with a fire-and-forget infrared seeker, which allows the operator to lock a target before it is launched.

Javelin automatically guides itself to the target after the initial launch, allowing the operator to take cover, relocate or prepare to engage another threat.

According to the manufacturers, using an “arched top-attack profile, Javelin climbs above its target for improved visibility and then strikes where the armour is the weakest”.

To launch it, the operator first places a cursor over the selected target. Thereafter, the Javelin launch command unit “sends a lock-on-before-launch signal to the missile”.

The anti-tank guided missile system also has a soft-launch design, with which one can easily fire from inside buildings or bunkers.

“Javelin defeats all known and projected armour on the battlefield, to include main battle tanks and softer targets, and can be fired in top or direct attack modes,” according to Lockheed Martin.
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The Javelin missile system is a mainstay Brigade Combat Team weapon for the US Army and US Marine Corps, and is used by 25 countries.