India, U.S. in talks for Stryker infantry vehicles and Javelin missiles

India explores co-production of Stryker vehicles and Javelin missiles with the U.S., advancing defence collaborations and technology partnerships.

India has expressed interest in co-production of the Stryker infantry vehicles and it is in “relatively” early stages of talks with the U.S. on the Stryker and the javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM), according to the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell.

At the same time, deals for MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and GE-414 jet engines are making progress as well as defence industrial collaborations under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) framework.

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Discussions on the Stryker have been going on for several months now and officials said the deal could potentially see local manufacture of several hundred variants of the vehicle under licence with some customisations for the Indian Army, including one with the javelin ATGMs mounted on them. However, several defence officials expressed reservations on going for the Stryker given that several such vehicles have been developed and demonstrated by Indian companies in recent years.

“India has expressed an interest in the co-production of Stryker, and I think we’re still in relatively early stages and the U.S. Army plans to demonstrate the capabilities of the Stryker to the Indian army at an early opportunity,” Mr. Campbell stated. “We’ve had some discussions around the co-production of Javelin and Stryker, and again, we’re in relatively early stages here. But I think across the board, we’re exploring a number of avenues for both co-production and engagement around technological areas where we could collaborate together on development more generally in R&D.”

Mr. Campbell was speaking in a virtual briefing on Wednesday on the second India-US iCET dialogue that was chaired by the two National Security Advisers last week.

The U.S. has in the past demonstrated both the Stryker as well as the Javelin ATGM to the Indian Army during bilateral exercises. Javelin was extensively evaluated by the Indian Army, though the deal did not go through.