The US has approved a possible sale to India of two key tranches of military equipment — Excalibur artillery munitions and the Javelin anti-tank missile system — with a combined value of $93 million amid the ongoing trade tension between the two countries.
The development comes three days after India announced the conclusion of a first-ever “historic” pact where Indian oil companies will import American LPG, amid efforts by the two sides to repair ties strained by Washington’s steep tariffs on Indian exports.
This is also India’s first purchase of arms from the US after President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in August as punishment for purchasing Russian crude oil.
The US state department approved the possible foreign military sale of the weapons and ammunition following “New Delhi’s request”, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement issued in Washington.
The DSCA has delivered the required certification notifying the US Congress of the decisions.
“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 region,” the DSCA said.
The Excalibur deal is for $47.1 million and the Javelin pact is for $45.7 million.
India requested to buy up to 216 M982A1 Excalibur tactical projectiles, which will also include ancillary items, portable electronic fire control systems (PEFCS) with improved platform integration kit (iPIK), primers, propellant charges, US government technical assistance, technical data, repair and return services and other related elements of logistics and programme support, the statement said.
The proposed sale of the equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region, the statement said.
New Delhi has also requested to buy 100 FGM-148 Javelin rounds, one Javelin FGM-148 missile and 25 Javelin lightweight command launch units (LwCLU) or Javelin Block 1 command launch units (CLU), the DSCA said in a separate statement. The Javelin deal would include similar ancillary items, manuals, technical assistance and training.
The sale of Javelin missiles, considered the most advanced shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons, to India will “strengthen its homeland defence and deter regional threats”, the statement said.
The proposed sale will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing precision-capability equipment that will increase first-strike accuracy in its brigades, according to the statement.