India will buy anti-tank guided missiles from Israel, rejecting a rival bid from the U.S. for its Javelin missiles. Defense Ministry sources stated that Modi’s government has placed orders for 8,356 Spike missiles and 321 launchers from Israel in a deal worth 32 billion rupees ($525 million). The Javelin is currently manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
“The Defense Acquisition Council took the decision based on purely technical reasons and based on hard facts,” said an unnamed defense ministry official. “The process of bringing them (equipment) here will be done over a period of time, in stages,” he added without giving details. India, the world’s biggest arms importer, is in the midst of a $100-billion defense upgrade program, whose pace has accelerated since the new government was elected in May this year
