Why India took 16 years to acquire Javelin ‘fire-and-forget’ missiles

India began exploring the acquisition of Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems from the US in 2010. The Ministry of Defence sought a Letter of Request from the US for the third-generation Javelin ATGMs through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process, aiming to replace ageing Milan-2T and Konkurs missile systems. However, the deal was shelved due to stringent US technology transfer restrictions.

In 2014, India decided to opt for Israel’s Spike ATGMs, which offered greater flexibility in terms of technology transfer and local production. The Spike ATGMs were initially ordered in large quantities, but the deal was canceled in 2017 due to performance concerns in trials and technology transfer issues. In 2019, India made an emergency purchase of a limited quantity of the fourth-generation Spike-Long Range (LR) ATGMs to address immediate operational gaps.

In 2023, Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between the Kalyani Group and Rafael, secured a contract for the supply of missile systems. In August 2025, the US officially approved the sale of Javelin systems to India, either as an emergency procurement or through a long-term contract involving co-production. The DRDO has also made progress in developing its indigenous Man-Portable ATGM (MPATGM).