From (L) Excalibur Projectiles, Javelin Missile System
Credit: Weapons System, Raytheon
New Delhi, Nov 20: Amid the contentious tariff talks, the USA has cleared sale of Excalibur artillery ammunition and Javelin anti-tank missiles to India in an over $ 92 million (nearly Rs 823 crore) government-to-government deal.
The approvals by the Donald Trump administration to sell 216 Excalibur “tactical projectiles” and associated systems and 100 Javelin anti-tank missiles have been notified to the US Congress by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
Significantly, the deal materialised weeks before the scheduled India visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Also last month, the USA renewed its 10-year defence cooperation agreement with India further elevating the level of military partnership between Delhi and Washington.
In a Nov 19 statement, the DSCA said the proposed sale of Excalibur at a cost of $ 47.1 million would improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing precision capability equipment, which will increase first strike accuracy in its brigades, but will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
The ammunition is used in 155 mm artillery guns like ultra light weight M777 howitzers, and can also be used in the home-grown K9 Vajra and Dhanush guns.
During Operation Sindoor, M777 was one of the Indian Army weapons used to decimate seven of the nine terror targets located close to the Line of Control. The new lot of ammunition may replenish the stock exhausted during the conflict.
In a second statement, the DSCA said the proposed sale of Javelin missiles at a cost of $ 45.7 million would support the US foreign policy and national security objectives strengthening the US-Indian strategic relationship and improve the security of a major defense partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions.
“The proposed sale will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats,” it adds.
In addition to the missile, the Javelin deal also includes command units, launch units, batteries and other associated systems.
Disinformation campaign on IAF’s Rafale: Meanwhile, a new US report has blamed China for launching an elaborate disinformation campaign on Indian Air Force’s Rafale combat jets in an effort to prevent the sale of French fighter jets to other countries and find out prospective buyers for its J-35 aircraft.
In the weeks after the conflict, Chinese embassies hailed the successes of its systems in the India-Pakistan clash, seeking to bolster weapons sales, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its latest report submitted to the US Congress.
“Pakistan’s use of Chinese weapons to down French Rafale fighter jets used by India also became a particular selling point for Chinese Embassy defense sales efforts despite the fact that only three jets flown by India’s military were reportedly downed and all may not have been Rafales,” it said.
According to French intelligence, China initiated a disinformation campaign to hinder sales of French Rafales in favor of its own J-35s, and it used fake social media accounts to propagate AI and video game images of supposed “debris” from the planes China’s weaponry destroyed.
“Chinese Embassy officials convinced Indonesia to halt a purchase of Rafale jets already in process, furthering China’s inroads into other regional actors’ military procurement,” it adds.