Estimated Value Falls to $250 Million
On 17 January, during his five-day visit to India, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had been informed the New Delhi government has decided to put the procurement deal for the Rafael SPIKE anti-tank missile “back on track.” Although details have not been confirmed as yet, MONS understands that the original value of some US$500 million may have been reduced by as much as half.
SPIKE beat the Lockheed Martin/Raytheon JAVELIN system in a competition in late 2014 to replace the MBDA MILAN system, built under license by Bharat Dynamics, despite apparent US offers to include India in further development of the JAVELIN family. In early January, to some surprise, Rafael announced that the Indian government had elected to cancel the order, reportedly on the basis that the deal undermined an indigenous weapon system development programme under the aegis of India’s Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).
