The Trump administration has signed off on a $93m sale of Javelin anti-tank systems and Excalibur precision artillery shells to India, in what marks New Delhi’s first major purchase under Washington’s foreign military sales programme since relations dipped sharply earlier this year.
The approval, announced by the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency, comes months after Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% in retaliation for New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian crude, a move that sent bilateral ties into a rare freeze.
The new deal includes up to 216 Excalibur tactical projectiles and 100 Javelin units, expanding systems already used by the Indian Army, particularly with its M-777 howitzers deployed along sensitive frontier zones.
Washington framed the sale as a strategic investment, saying it would “strengthen the US-India relationship” and bolster the security of “a major defence partner” central to stability in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
It follows New Delhi’s decision earlier this month to reorder General Electric engines for its Tejas fighter jets ,a move seen as another sign of a quiet reset between the two capitals after months of acrimony.
The principal US contractors involved are RTX Corporation for Excalibur munitions and its joint venture with Lockheed Martin for the Javelin systems.
The deal lands at a moment when Washington is keen to consolidate India’s role as a counterweight to China, while New Delhi continues to balance military ties with Russia, the US and Europe ,a tightrope that has defined its foreign policy since the Ukraine war.
