The aid for Ukraine will not probably include lethal weapons, such as depicted Javelin ATGM. Photo: SOI-East Combat Camera/Lance Cpl. Andrew Kuppers/US DoD.

03 March, 2015 defence24.pl

The United States will allocate USD 120 million in order to realize a training programme for the Ukrainian soldiers, along with a programme purchases of armament for Ukraine.

Geoffrey Payatt, US Ambassador in Ukraine stated this fact in his interview for the Ukrainian “Inter” TV station. According to Payatt, the money will be allocated to train the soldiers and procure equipment for them – but not the lethal weapons.

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15/07/2014 latribune.fr

L'émirat a signé lundi avec le Pentagone un contrat pour l'achat de missiles Patriot américains (Raytheon) et d'hélicoptères d'attaque Apache. Une commande record passée avec les Etats-Unis, moins d'un mois après les échanges entre François Hollande et le cheikh qatari sur une éventuel vente d'avions Rafales.

La concurrence s'intensifie. Les États-Unis et le Qatar ont conclu lundi un accord d'un montant évalué à 11 milliards de dollars soit 8 milliards d'euros portant sur la livraison à l'émirat d'hélicoptères de combat Apache ainsi que de missiles Patriot et de systèmes de défense anti-aérien Javelin.

Le plus gros contrat de l'année avec les Etats-Unis

Le ministre de la Défense du Qatar, Hamid ben Ali Al-Attiyah, a signé ce contrat à l'issue d'entretiens avec son homologue américain Chuck Hagel à Washington, ont précisé ces responsables qui s'exprimaient sous le couvert de l'anonymat.

Dans le détail, l'émirat acquiert une dizaine de radars et 34 lanceurs de missiles Patriot, fabriqués par le groupe de défense américain Raytheon, et destinés à la défense anti-missile. En outre, Doha achète 24 hélicoptères d'attaque Apache et des missiles anti-char Javelin, selon les mêmes sources.

Il s'agit du plus gros contrat d'armement passé cette année par les États-Unis.

Un point pour Boeing

L'avionneur américain Boeing est de son côté en compétition avec le britannique BAE Systems et le français Dassault pour fournir au Qatar des avions de chasse.

Dans ce contexte, la vente de lundi est "un bon signe" pour Boeing, s'est réjoui un haut responsable du Pentagone.

Les États-Unis, a-t-il poursuivi, veulent continuer à être "le fournisseur de choix" du Qatar et d'autres États du Golfe en termes d'armement.

C'est la première fois que le Qatar se dote de missiles Patriot, tandis que d'autres pays du Golfe comme le Koweït, l'Arabie saoudite et les Émirats arabes unis en ont déjà acheté par le passé.

Contrer la menace iranienne

Par l'achat de ces armes, le Qatar entend ainsi s'équiper pour contenir la menace qu'il voit dans l'Iran voisin. Les responsables américains pressent depuis longtemps leurs partenaires du Golfe de mettre en place un réseau coordonné de défense anti-missile pour faire face à la menace de l'Iran, mais une telle coopération a mis du temps à s'installer.

La vente de ces armes devrait améliorer les relations diplomatiques et de sécurité des États-Unis avec le Qatar, a estimé l'un des responsables, malgré des différends qui persistent sur le dossier syrien et notamment l'aide de Doha à certains groupes rebelles jugés trop radicaux par Washington.

"C'est un investissement dans la prochaine génération (de dirigeants militaires)... C'est un investissement sur le long terme", a souligné l'un des responsables.

D'autant que le Qatar abrite le Centre des opérations aériennes combinées (CAOC), capital pour l'armée américaine car les hauts responsables militaires y supervisent leurs avions de combat en Afghanistan et surveillent le trafic aérien à travers le Moyen-Orient.

54.000 emplois créés

La vente de ces armes sera également bénéfique à l'économie américaine, selon ces responsables, qui citent le chiffre de 54.000 emplois créés dans le cadre du contrat signé avec le Qatar.

Les missiles Patriot valent plus de 7 milliards de dollars, les hélicoptères Apache plus de 3 milliards et les missiles anti-char Javelin près de 100 millions, selon les mêmes sources

10.07.2014 Lockheed Martin

On March 31, the Lockheed Martin UK Ampthill team successfully fired a Javelin missile from a turret at Cranfield Ordnance Test & Evaluation Center (COTEC) firing range on Salisbury Plain near Wiltshire, England. The missile hit the target successfully.

2013-09-20 xinhua

Les Etats-Unis ont promis à l'Inde de lui fournir des technologies militaires de pointe, en amont de la visite prévue du Premier ministre indien Manmohan Singh à Washington la semaine prochaine, a rapporté jeudi la presse locale.

Le secrétaire adjoint américain à la Défense Ashton B. Carter, actuellement en visite　en Inde, s'est entretenu avec le Conseiller indien pour la sécurité nationale Shiv Shankar Menon, la ministre des Affaires étrangères Sujatha Singh et le ministre de la Défense RK Mathur dans la capitale du pays, où il a souligné la nécessité de mener plusieurs projets militaires de co-développement et de co-production pour raviver les relations stratégiques bilatérales, a rapporté le journal Times of India.

A l'heure actuelle, la Russie est le premier fournisseur de l'Inde en matière de défense.

M. Carter a déclaré que les Etats-Unis cherchent à s'associer avec l'Inde via "l'ensemble du spectre" des capacités de défense et "sans frontière" préétablie, en proposant des installations de fabrication communes pour la prochaine génération de missiles antichar guidés Javelin, précise le Times of India.

L'Inde a prévu de dépenser plus de 100 milliards de dollars dans les acquisitions d'armes au cours de la prochaine décennie.

April 21, 2013: Strategy Page

After several years of testing and negotiation the Indian Army had recently decided on a supplier for new anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) for its 356 infantry battalions. The deal was worth nearly a billion dollars and was about to be awarded to an Israeli firm (for its Spike ATGM) when the entire process was cancelled over fears that corruption may have been involved. No one was accused of taking a bribe, but so much of that has occurred in India that the politicians overruled the generals and ordered them to run the search again and come up with at least two finalists. This will not guarantee there will be no bribery, but the politicians are under a lot of pressure to curb corruption and this move at least makes it look like someone is making an effort

The Indian army had originally wanted to buy the U.S. Javelin ATGM and the Americans were willing to allow production to take place in India. That deal fell apart because Indian procurement officials were unwilling to guarantee that U.S. technology would not be stolen. Israel pitched its similar Spike missile and did not consider potential technology theft to be a deal breaker.

The army was not happy with this last minute cancellation as they need a replacement for the French Milan ATGMs. India has been building Milans for over three decades. There is no suitable local candidate, despite over two decades of effort trying to develop an effective ATGM to replace Milan. While the Milan design has been updated several times since it first appeared in 1972, there are several other more recent designs that are more effective.

The most effective of these is the Javelin. Introduced in 2002, it weighs 22.3 kg (49 pounds, with disposable launch tube and battery/seeker coolant unit) and is fired from a 6.4 kg (14 pound) CLU (command launch unit). The CLU contains a 4x day sight and a 9x heat sensing night sight. The missile has a tandem (two warheads, to blast through reactive armor) that can hit a target straight on or from the top. This latter capability enables the Javelin to use its 8.2 kg (18 pound) warhead to destroy any existing tank (including the U.S. M1). Maximum range is 2,500 meters. Best of all, the seeker on the missile is "fire and forget." That is, once the operator gets the target in the CLU crosshairs and fires the missile the computer and seeker in the missile warhead memorizes the target and homes in on it. The infantry love this because it allows them to take cover once the missile is fired.

Meanwhile some 30,000 Milans have already been produced in India, under license from European firm MBDA. They have also produced nearly 3,000 launchers. India believes that against Pakistan (the most likely enemy that is likely to use a lot of armored vehicles) Milan still gets the job done. But more modern ATGMs get the job done better and at the loss of fewer Indian infantrymen. This is a popular attitude and the army is not happy about being ordered to start the search for a Milan replacement all over again.

The basic Milan is a 1.2 meter long, 125mm diameter, 7.1 kg (16 pound) missile. It has a minimum range of 400 meters and maximum range of 2,000 meters. At max range the missile takes about 13 seconds to reach its target. The missile is guided to the target by the operator via a thin wire. The launcher weighs 21 kg (46 pounds). The missile can penetrate about a meter of armor, making it effective against all but the most modern tanks (M-1, Challenger, Leopard II). That means Milan will still destroy all the tanks Pakistan has aimed at India.

The Indians pay about $30,000 per Milan missile and have had good success with them in combat. The Javelins cost more than twice as much but are much more effective. Since the 1970s, over 350,000 Milan missiles and 30,000 launchers have been built worldwide. More modern ATGM are wireless and require much less effort on the part of the operator but they are more expensive.

The Israeli missile closest to the Javelin is the Spike MR. This missile, in a container, weighs 14 kg (30.8 pounds) while the CLU (with thermal sight and battery) weighs 12.8 kg (28.3 pounds). Like Javelin, Spike MR has a range of 2,500 meters and is "fire and forget." France recently went looking for a MILAN replacement and the two finalists were Javelin and Spike MR. Javelin won.

Since ATGMs first saw action three decades ago, operators quickly discovered that in the time it took (up to 15 seconds) for the missile to reach its target, enemy troops would often shower them with machine-gun fire, and the most recent ATGM designs seek to deal with that. Another Javelin feature is "soft launch", where the missile is popped out of the launch tube by a small explosive charge, small enough to allow the Javelin to be fired from inside a building. Once the missile is about eight meters out the main rocket motor ignites. The minimum range is, however, 75 meters. It takes about 20 seconds to reload a CLU after a missile has been fired, while Spike MR needs only 15 seconds. Indian troops got a chance to fire Javelins three years ago and were very impressed. Not just because of its ease of use and accuracy but because the missile is combat proven and is known to be very effective at non-vehicle targets. The CLU also performs well as a night vision device, which is how many American troops use it in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Spike was tested as well and was considered a satisfactory alternative to the Javelin. India already has a lot of Israeli military gear and Indian users are pleased with it.

Jun 05, 2012 Ajai Shukla - business-standard.com

New Delhi - A dangerous flashpoint in United States-India relations faces visiting US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta, who faces tough questions from Indian officials on Tuesday. The US State Department has slashed India’s request for Javelin anti-tank missiles, offering instead a smaller quantity that Washington sources say is “less than half of what India has requested for.”

Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials are furious that Washington, an avowed strategic partner, has pared down India’s requirement of Javelin missiles, even while arguing that defence sales are a cornerstone of the US-Indian strategic relationship.

“This (US reduced offer) is a deal killer. Washington will not dictate the quantity of weaponry we need. This will severely damage the prospects of US vendors in future arms contracts,” a South Block official told Business Standard.

This unexpected rebuff stems from the US Department of Political-Military Affairs, a State Department office that examines the political fallout of proposed US arms sales. Pol-Mil Affairs, as this department is called, often nixes or curtails arms sales because they might “destabilise the regional military balance.”

Neither the US Embassy in New Delhi, nor the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), is prepared to reveal the reason provided by Washington for slashing the Indian request. The Ministry of External Affairs and the MoD have not responded to requests for comments.

US Embassy spokesperson, Peter Vrooman, said, “We don’t discuss individual sales. Secretary Panetta looks forward to having an exchange with the Government of India on a broad range of issues.”

Andrew Shapiro, the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, had told Business Standard, in an exclusive interaction during his visit to New Delhi on April 17, that Washington had cleared the transfer of technology for manufacturing the Javelin missile in India. Given that readiness to transfer high-end technology, the curbs placed by Washington on the missile numbers remain inexplicable.

The FGM-148 Javelin, built by US companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, is one of the two anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) that the Indian Army is evaluating for its 350-odd infantry battalions. The other is the Spike, built by Israeli company, Rafael. These are both shoulder-launched, “fire-and-forget” ATGMs, which means that they autonomously track their targets after they are fired by a two-man crew.

Both missiles are scheduled to come to India for user evaluation trials later this year. However, the Javelin has already impressed the Indian Army. During joint exercises with the US Army, Indian missile crews have fired ten Javelin missiles. All ten hit their targets.

The US industry, which has heavy stakes in a successful Javelin sale to India, is sharply critical of the State Department for curtailing the Indian request. “Offering a reduced number of missiles will almost certainly kill the Javelin deal; in fact it seems to almost be designed to be so. It seems as if Hillary Clinton herself remains unconvinced about the India relationship and is trying to set a different tone,” complains an industry member.

A key US frustration in the defence relationship has been New Delhi’s refusal to sign three defence cooperation agreements that Washington has pressed for: a Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA); a Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA); and a Logistics Support Agreement (LSA). New Delhi believes that signing these agreements would put it overtly in the US camp, diluting its “multi-aligned” foreign policy that emphasises strong relations with multiple foreign powers.

There are also growing frustrations in Washington over India’s resistance to allow US “end-user” inspections of weaponry sold to Indian security forces. New Delhi regards end-user monitoring as a violation of sovereignty.