Reuters reported yesterday that India has chosen to order the Israeli built Spike anti-tank missile system over the comparable American Javelin system.

India has opted to buy Israel’s Spike anti-tank guided missile, a defence ministry source said on Saturday, rejecting a rival U.S. offer of Javelin missiles that Washington had lobbied hard to win.

India will buy at least 8,000 Spike missiles and more than 300 launchers in a deal worth 32 billion rupees ($525 million), the source said after a meeting of India’s Defence Acquisition Council.

According to Reuters the government of Narendra Modi is clearing a “backlog of defence orders and boost India’s firepower, amid recent border tensions with China and heavy exchanges of fire with Pakistan across the Kashmiri frontier.”

When he was elected as India’s president in May, Modi’s ascent was seen as a sign of closer ties between India and Israel. This is the second major arms deal concluded between the two countries in a week’s time. On Thursday it was reported that India concluded a five year deal with Israel to purchase Barak 1 surface to air missiles.

[Photo: zombietimedotcom / YouTube ]