India and France to purchase Javelin man-portable, anti-tank missiles

12 Oct 2009 8ak: India and France are both considering the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route for the potential purchase of the Javelin anti-tank missile which will mean that they bypass the tendering process altogether. Unlike DRDO's heavier Nag missile which needs to be vehicle or aircraft mounted, the 23kg Javelin is man-portable which means that it can reach in to areas vehicles cannot. The Javelin is produced by Raytheon & Lockheed Martin JV. It has InfraRed imaging, lock-on before launch and automatic self-guiding. The cost is expected to be around €70m for 300 missiles and 50 to 60 launchers. See Javelin datasheet, information about the French purchase and a DNA report here.