India and the United States are taking their strategic partnership forward with the United States now offering the joint production of the famed Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) to India. The proposal was taken up during a high-level meet between officials of the two nations a few days ago in New Delhi. The local manufacturer of the Lockheed Martin and Raytheon-developed missile, which has played a stellar role in the conflict in Ukraine, is yet to be decided upon. The Indian manufacturer of the missile will make both the Command Launch Unit (CLU) as well as the missile.
The offer to jointly manufacture the potent weapon comes at a time when U.S. stocks of the weapon are at an all time low. The United States has sent over 10,000 missiles to embattled Ukraine where the missile is playing a key role by keeping Russian armour at bay and is affectionately called Saint Javelin by the Ukrainians. International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) also effectively used the missile in Afghanistan against the Taliban and the missile was very effectively used against insurgents and terrorists in Iraq. The missile is currently used by 24 countries and is expected to be a part of the arsenal of seven other nations. Interestingly, India had selected the missile after trials. India intended to procure some of the missiles off the shelf and sought local manufacturing and Transfer of Technology (ToT). America’s reluctance over the technology transfer led to India procuring the Spike ATGM from Israel.
The Javelin is a third-generation man-portable fire and forget ATGM. A fire and forget heat seeking missile does not require any guidance to the target after the operator has selected and launched the weapon. This is a big change from other missiles from previous generation of ATGMs in which the gunner had to continuously guide the missile either by a wire trailing from the missile or via laser. The weapon system first inducted in 1996 has been updated with time in the form of six other variants. The different versions of the missile can take down targets ranging from 2,500 metres to 4,750 meters. The missile has a top-down attack mode in which it strikes a tank from above where the armour is the thinnest. Russia modified its tanks with cope cages to protect them from such top down attacks. The manufacturer claims that the missile has been used in over 5,000 successful engagements.
The Americans are having difficulty manufacturing the weapon in the right quantities. Over 50,000 missiles have been delivered to various nations, including the 10,000 donated by the U.S. to Ukraine. The manufacturer has ramped up production of the missile from 2,100 per year to about 4,000 missiles per year. Over a third of the American stockpile has been delivered to Ukraine and the war torn nation’s appetite for the effective ATGM seems to only increase. As such having a second production line in India would considerably help alleviate the global ATGM shortfall. Very pertinent in current times marked by uncertainties. As India is looking forward to induct the Man-Portaple ATGM (MPATGM), even if we do not induct the Javelin, the export potential is considerable, especially with the global ATGM market expected to be worth $16.8 bn till 2032. This also ties in with the goal of Make in India for the world.
