July 2, 2010
NEW DELHI — The U.S. is expected to receive a letter of request from the Indian government for a proposed Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of the Javelin man-portable anti-tank missile system.
Built by a joint venture of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, the Javelin has been demonstrated to the Indian army and was brought last October to a joint Indo-U.S. training exercise aimed at sharing experience in peacekeeping, humanitarian/ disaster relief and counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism operations.
Of nine Javelin firings, three were done by Indian gunners picked at random, and all scored hits, accordIing to Roger Rose, CEO of Lockheed Martin India.
Eventually “there could be hundreds” of Javelins ordered, Rose says, although the initial request is expected to be smaller. The system weighs 22.45 kg. (50 lb.) and is ready to fire in 30 seconds with a reload time of 20 seconds. The missiles have a shelf life of 10 years.
The compact, lightweight medium-range missile system has been used in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq by U.S. and allied soldiers, marines and special operators. Eleven countries have selected Javelin to meet anti-armor requirements.
- Neelam Mathews
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