Politics
US approves $93m sale of Javelin anti-tank system, Excalibur projectiles to India
- India has sought acquisition of up to 216 Excalibur projectiles.
- New Delhi also wants to acquire 100 units of the Javelin system.
- India already uses Excalibur artillery ammunition in its M-777 guns.
NEW DELHI: The US State Department has approved the sale of Javelin anti-tank missile system and Excalibur guided artillery munitions worth $93 million to India, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on Wednesday.
The purchase of US defence equipment is India’s first under Washington’s foreign military sales programme since ties soured in August after President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% as punishment for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
It follows a re-order this month of fighter jet engines made by General Electric to power more of India’s home-produced Tejas combat aircraft.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defence partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions,” the DSCA said in a statement.
The Indian government had requested to buy up to 216 Excalibur tactical projectiles and 100 units of the Javelin system, the DSCA said. India already uses the Excalibur artillery ammunition in its M-777 Howitzer guns.
The principal contractors for the sales will be RTX Corp for the Excalibur projectiles and its joint venture with Lockheed Martin for the Javelin systems, the DSCA said.
US President Donald Trump announced that he will meet New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday, marking the first encounter between the Republican leader and the democratic socialist who won this month’s mayoral election.
The two figures have previously been critical of one another, with Trump supporting Mamdani’s rival, Andrew Cuomo, during the campaign.
Meanwhile, Mamdani has criticized Trump administration policies, including immigration crackdowns and the handling of protests against US support for Israel amid the Gaza conflict.
Trump confirmed the meeting on social media, stating, “We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st.”
Earlier in the week, Mamdani told reporters that his team had contacted the White House to arrange the discussion. “My team reached out to the White House to fulfill a commitment I made to New Yorkers over the course of this campaign,” he said on Monday.
Mamdani’s transition team has not immediately responded to Trump’s announcement on Wednesday.
Trump has repeatedly turned the powers of the presidency on political rivals. During the New York City mayoral election campaign, Trump threatened to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from the city if Mamdani won.
Mamdani made countering the 79-year-old Republican president’s actions in the city, especially on immigration, a centrepiece of his successful campaign.
Mamdani will be sworn in as New York City mayor on January 1, 2026.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he will meet New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday in what would be the first meeting of the Republican leader with the democratic socialist who won this month’s mayoral election.
Mamdani and Trump have been critical of each other, with Trump having backed Mamdani’s opponent, Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani, for his part, has been critical of the Trump administration’s policies, including its crackdown on immigration and on protests against US support for Israel during the Gaza war.
“We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st,” Trump said on social media on Wednesday.
Mamdani told reporters earlier this week that his team had reached out to the White House to arrange a meeting.
“My team reached out to the White House to fulfil a commitment I made to New Yorkers over the course of this campaign,” Mamdani said on Monday.
Mamdani’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s post on Wednesday.
Trump has repeatedly turned the powers of the presidency on political rivals. During the New York City mayoral election campaign, Trump threatened to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from the city if Mamdani won.
Mamdani made countering the 79-year-old Republican president’s actions in the city, especially on immigration, a centrepiece of his successful campaign.
Mamdani will be sworn in as New York City mayor on January 1, 2026.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would work to help end the war in Sudan after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked him to get involved in the matter.
“We’ve already started working on that,” Trump said at a Saudi investment conference a day after he met with Saudi Arabia’s ruler at the White House.
Trump told the gathering, which was attended by bin Salman and his delegation, that his administration began working on the issue half an hour after the crown prince requested Tuesday’s meeting.
The US will work with the Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries to end atrocities in the region and stabilise Sudan, Trump later said in a social media post.
The Sudan conflict erupted in 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. It has caused ethnically charged bloodletting, widespread destruction and mass displacement, drawing in foreign powers and threatening to split Sudan.
The Saudi crown prince believes Trump’s direct pressure is needed to break a logjam in talks to end more than two and a half years of war, pointing to his work to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza last month, five people familiar with the matter said.
The Saudi ruler appeared to appeal to the US president’s view of himself as a peacemaker, according to Trump’s account.
“He mentioned Sudan yesterday, and he said, ‘Sir, you’re talking about a lot of wars, but there’s a place on Earth called Sudan, and it’s horrible what’s happening,'” Trump said.
For Saudi Arabia, a resolution to the conflict is linked to national security, given hundreds of miles of Sudanese coastline lying opposite the kingdom’s Red Sea coast.
“Tremendous atrocities are taking place in Sudan,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “It has become the most violent place on Earth and, likewise, the single biggest Humanitarian Crisis. Food, doctors, and everything else are desperately needed.”
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