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FGM-148 Javelin
American-made portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missile / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The FGM-148 Javelin, or Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium (AAWS-M), is an American-made man-portable anti-tank system in service since 1996, and continuously upgraded. It replaced the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile in US service.[11] Its fire-and-forget design features automatic infrared guidance, allowing the user to seek cover immediately after launch, in contrast to wire-guided systems, like the system used by the Dragon, which require a user to guide the weapon throughout the engagement. The Javelin's high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead can defeat modern tanks by top-down attack, hitting them from above, where their armor is thinnest, and is also useful against fortifications in a direct attack flight. The javelin uses a tandem charge warhead to circumvent an enemy tank's explosive reactive armor (ERA) which would normally make HEAT warheads ineffective.
FGM-148 Javelin | |
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![]() An assembled FGM-148 Javelin launcher | |
Type | Anti-tank missile |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1996–present |
Used by | See Operators |
Wars | |
Production history | |
Designer | Texas Instruments & Martin Marietta, now Raytheon Technologies & Lockheed Martin |
Designed | June 1989 |
Manufacturer | Raytheon & Lockheed Martin |
Unit cost | US$216,717 (G-model missile only, FY2021)[6] US$240,000 (missile only, export cost, FY2019)[7] US$249,700 (Lightweight CLU only, FY2021)[6] |
Produced | 1996–present |
No. built | 50,000 missiles (12,000 CLUs)[8][9] |
Variants | See: § Variants |
Specifications | |
Mass | |
Length | 1.1 m (43 in) (missile) |
Barrel length | 1.2 m (47 in) |
Diameter | 127 mm (5.0 in) |
Crew | 1 or 2 |
Calibre | 127 mm (5.0 in) |
Effective firing range | |
Sights | Optical sight & thermal imaging |
Warhead | Tandem-charge HEAT |
Warhead weight | 8.4 kg (19 lb)[15] |
Detonation mechanism | Contact fuze |
Blast yield |
|
Propellant | Solid-fuel |
Flight ceiling | 150 m (490 ft) (top attack mode) 60 m (200 ft) (direct attack mode) |
Guidance system | Infrared homing |
Launch platform | Man-portable launcher |
As of 2019[update], according to claims by the manufacturer, the Javelin had been used in around 5,000 successful engagements.[8] By August 2021, 50,000 missiles had been delivered to customers.[9]
The weapon made its combat debut in Iraq in 2003 and rose to prominence in the Russo-Ukrainian War, where it has seen extensive usage by Ukrainian forces at the early stage of the 2022 Russian invasion.