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Chandigarh: On May 30, when United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that India would acquire the American FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), he was effectively reviving a procurement programme that had remained unresolved for over 16 years.

Over that period, the proposed ATGM acquisition, like several other high-profile Indo-US defence projects linked to technology transfer and local production, has repeatedly stalled amid protracted negotiations and unresolved industrial issues, rarely advancing beyond the realm of intent and discussion.

Hegseth’s reference to the Javelin came in the broader context of Washington’s efforts to deepen defence cooperation with New Delhi and position India as a key security partner in the Indo-Pacific. In his address in Singapore last week, he described India as “a critical anchor to hold the line” in South Asia, praising its military modernisation efforts and growing role in regional security.

Yet, the Javelin was a curious programme for the American Defence Secretary to highlight, as it represented one of the longest-running, albeit least conclusive, efforts in the history of Indo-US defence cooperation over the past quarter century.

Since 2010, both sides have sought to bring the missile into the Indian Army service, only for the effort to flounder on technology-transfer disputes, bureaucratic inertia, competing procurement priorities, and the lure of alternative and indigenously developed ATGM systems. Rather than progressing steadily towards induction, the Javelin steadily became emblematic of the structural obstacles that have long complicated Indo-US defence collaboration, particularly in areas involving technology transfer and local series production.

The stillborn Javelin episode also serves as a reminder that, contrary to popular perception, defence dealings with Washington – even between countries routinely described as close strategic partners like the US and India – are far from straightforward. It highlights that US arms transfers, along with the tightly-controlled technologies that accompany them, remain among the most heavily regulated in the world, subject to extensive governmental, commercial, and legislative scrutiny, often resulting in procurement timelines measured in decades rather than just years.

“Given these structural handicaps, there remains ample scope for further delays and complications before the Javelin finds its way into Indian Army inventories – if indeed it ever does,” said a senior industry official, declining to be named. After all, declarations of intent and political support have accompanied the project for much of the past decade and a half, with nothing to show for them, he added.

When did India’s interest in Javelin begin?

The Indian Army’s requirement for a........

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