The Hindu, Reuters, November 20 report: The U.S. Department of State has approved the sale of "Javelin" anti-tank missiles and "Excalibur" precision-guided artillery shells to India. This is the first time since August 2025 when U.S.-India relations were tense that India has purchased defense equipment through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, reflecting a trend of easing trade friction between the two countries. On October 31, 2025, India and the United States signed a ten-year defense cooperation framework agreement, indicating India's inclination to reduce its reliance on Russian weapons and promote diversification in military procurement. Although Russia remains India's largest source of weapons, its share of India's arms imports has dropped from 58% during 2014-2018 to 36% during 2019-2023. Meanwhile, the U.S. share increased from 12% to 13%, and U.S.-India defense trade volume surged from almost zero in 2008 to $25 billion (25 billion dollars) in 2023, making the U.S. the third-largest arms supplier to India. According to the information, this transaction includes a $45.7 million (45.7 million dollars) "Javelin" missile system, including 100 FGM-148 Javelin missiles, one "fly-to-buy" missile, and 25 lightweight command launch units (LwCLU); and a $47.1 million (47.1 million dollars) "Excalibur" shell system, including 216 M982A1 "Excalibur" tactical shells. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) stated that the proposed military sales will strengthen the strategic relationship between the U.S. and India, and strongly support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives.
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