The Javelin Joint Venture’s Javelin Weapon System recently had a successful series of direct hits in U.S,-India joint exercises that could give a boost to the recently unveiled U.S. Defense Department offer to collaboratively develop with India the next generation Javelin weapon.
The combat-proven weapon system is produced by the Javelin Joint Venture formed by Raytheon [RTN] and Lockheed Martin [LMT].
Most recently, Javelin went five for five in the Yudh Abhyas Trials–a joint U.S.-India exercise–and over time, U.S. and Indian gunners have gone 16 for 16 in Javelin firings, the joint venture said in Paris in June.
“The Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture continues to offer the Javelin as an option to meet India’s requirement for an advanced, fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile,” the Joint Venture said in a release. “Just recently, the Javelin was successfully fired in the U.S.-India Yudh Abhyas bilateral exercise with (five) direct hits, (three) of which were fired by Indian gunners.”
Earlier this week, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said he offered–solely to India– a new proposal to co-develop a next-generation Javelin capability (Defense Daily, Sept. 30).
“This is a new twist on a very old dog in U.S.-Indian relations,” Carter said during a speech at the Center for American Progress. “This proposal would address a key military requirement for both our armies and is an unprecedented offer that we’ve made unique to India, so we’re pretty enthusiastic about it.”
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| Javelin Photo: Lockheed Martin |
During his speech, Carter went on to say the Defense Department is working to make defense trade and technology efforts easier with India.
The Javelin Joint Venture, while not specifically addressing the collaborative proposal in its statement, went on to say: “The Indian anti-tank guided missile program is a priority for the Javelin Joint Venture. We are prepared to comply with India’s requirement for major defense procurements including transfer of technology and fully support an agreement reached upon between the Indian and U.S. governments.”
Javelin is a shoulder-launched, fire and forget missile system that can defeat armored vehicles.
In addition to the United States, Javelin is in service with Australia, the Czech Republic, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.