US approves $93m deal for anti-tank missiles, precision artillery to India

The United States has approved a $93 million defence sale to India, paving the way for New Delhi to acquire a fresh batch of Javelin anti-tank missiles and Excalibur precision-guided artillery rounds.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has formally notified the US Congress about the proposed transfers, which include:

100 FGM-148 Javelin missiles

1 fly-to-buy Javelin missile

25 lightweight or Block 1 Command Launch Units (CLU/LwCLU)

216 M982A1 Excalibur tactical projectiles

India’s request also covers a wide range of supporting equipment such as missile simulators, battery coolant units, training modules, spare parts, technical manuals, logistics support, lifecycle maintenance, and refurbishment services for launch units.

According to DSCA, the Javelin package is valued at $45.7 million, while the Excalibur artillery package is estimated at $47.1 million, bringing the combined cost to approximately $93 million.

The principal contractor for the sale will be RTX Corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The US government has stated that no offset agreements are currently proposed, though any future offsets will be negotiated directly between India and the contractor.

The DSCA clarified that the deal will not require the deployment of additional US personnel to India and will not adversely affect US defence readiness.