Indian Army under the new emergency purchase provision has placed an order for 210 Spike Missiles and 12 launch vehicles with Israel. The deal worth Rs 280 crore will help the army protect its infantry and tanks from enemy armour, reports Times Now.

The order which is to meet immediate operational requirements of the Indian Army can be expected to be delivered soon, the purchase is made in the wake of the recent standoff with Pakistan after the Balakot airstrikes and Pakistan moving its ground forces closer to the border.

The order which would have taken a longer time for approval given the Lok Sabha elections in the country, was placed in high priority under the Emergency Purchase Provision.

The provision enhances the financial powers of Indian Armed forces and gives them the authority to acquire goods and material without prior approval from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), under the provision, the Indian Army can make purchases worth Rs 300 crore.

The anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) or Spike is according to its maker Rafael Advanced Defense Systems a “new generation” system, superior to the previously proposed deal. The previous deal which is much bigger in order is still under discussions with the DRDO and is only a third generation variant of the Spike defence system.

An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armoured military vehicles. ATGMs range in size, shoulder-launched weapons, larger tripod-mounted weapons and vehicle & aircraft mounted missile systems.