A joint venture of Raytheon Co and Lockheed Martin Corp is evaluating the possibility of manufacturing Javelin anti-tank missiles and launch units in India.

The Javelin Joint Venture, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to explore co-production of the Javelin anti-tank missile system to fulfill potential future requirements of the Indian Ministry of Defence.

“We look forward to working with BDL, a leading guided weapon system manufacturer, to evaluate the possibility of manufacturing Javelin in India,” said David Pantano, Javelin Joint Venture vice president. “With BDL’s 50 years of experience, combined with Javelin’s reliability and proven performance, we are excited to see how this partnership will support the needs of the Indian Ministry of Defence.”

Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd.), CMD, Bharat Dynamics Limited stated that BDL’s thrust in the coming years will be to continue to invest in infrastructure, automate its production lines, adopt continual process improvement and exports.

Javelin is a versatile one-man-portable and platform-employed anti-tank and multi-target precision weapon system. Using state-of the-art “fire-and-forget” technology capable of defeating targets up to 4 kilometers in most operational conditions, the weapon guides itself to the target without external commands, controls or target designation. Javelin’s optimized trajectory, automated guidance and high penetration capability provides unparalleled performance against heavy and light armor, as well as “soft” and irregular targets in all weather conditions and geographic regions. With Javelin’s user intuitive features, operator proficiency is established and maintained through only 72 hours of simulation on an indoor trainer – limiting training-related costs and time.

Javelin is currently in service in 18 allied countries. The Javelin Joint Venture has produced more than 45,000 rounds for both U.S. and foreign militaries. The Javelin weapon system continues regular spiral development to stay ahead of advancing threats and is expected to be in the U.S. military’s operational inventory through 2050.