The FGM-148 Javelin is America’s premier man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank system.
This system was fielded as an improvement over the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile.
Since its deployment, Javelin has proved to be US military’s most effective, man-portable
weapon system.
US Marines and Army are equipped with these, especially the frontline infantry squads.
Javelins have been exported to NATO countries as well as to allies like Saudi Arabia, Australia
to name a few.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes WHY RUSSIA SHOULD FEAR AMERICA’S JAVELIN ANTI
TANK MISSILE?
Javelin’s development started during Cold War era in 70s and 80s, when US military strategists
dreaded that vast Soviet Tank forces could overrun the U.S and its allies in land battles.
The M47 Dragon anti tank missile available to US military at that time was not very dependable
and this lead to efforts to develop a completely new system.
The Javelin finally entered service with the U.S. military in 1996, but by then Soviet
Union’s had collapsed.
Eventually Javelin was first deployed and used in 2003 during the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Javelin basically has two parts, a launcher which has the targeting systems and the missiles
which has the warhead.
The launcher has a high-tech infrared sensor with multiple viewing modes, including 4x
optical zoom, a 4x green-lit thermal view, and a 12x narrow-vision zoom activated for
targeting.
Javelin’s targeting system is different than the Dragon as it used the infrared guidance
instead of wired guidance.
This has major advantage as the user can take cover immediately after launch.
The system loaded with missile weigh in at 50 pounds or 23 kg, doesn’t require any
tripod and can be fired from a crouch or even seated position.
Being relatively light and compact, they are generally carried inside armored vehicles.
The system has small backblast and hence can be fired from confined spaces.
These characteristics make Javelin very versatile.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are responsible for manufacturing it.
Unlike the Dragon, the Javelin has been proven to be very effective.
For example, in the Battle of Debecka Pass in Iraq, a force of a few dozen Special Forces
operators having just 4 Javelin launchers destroyed mechanized company of over a 100 soldiers.
17 of the 19 missiles that were fired found their targets and destroyed 2 T-55 tanks,
8 MT-LB armored personnel carriers, and several trucks.
Since its ability to impact a land battle scenario is so well proven, the sells of Javelin
has become a political issue.
For instance, when the Trump administration approved a plan to provide this lethal weapon
to Ukraine recently, Russia responded angrily.
Viewer may note here that, Russian tanks supporting the separatists in Ukraine were instrumental
in driving the Ukrainian government forces in the back foot.
The Javelin’s 127 mm shaped charge warhead can penetrate about 600 to 800 mm of Rolled
Hardened Armor (RHA).
With this kind of power, Javelin will fail to penetrate a decent modern tank’s armor.
But Javelin has a trick up it sleeves, what it lacks in power, it makes up in tactic.
Javelin has a unique mode, the ‘top attack' mode by which it doesn’t hit the frontal
or side armor of a tank but it targets the top armor, which tend to be much thinner.
The missile has gyroscopes and gimbals that enable it to nosedive almost vertically onto
the infrared signature it was locked onto.
Many tanks have explosive-reactive armor (ERA) to defeat this.
ERA is designed to prematurely ignite the shaped charges used by missiles and disperses
the explosive power away from the tank.
But Javelin overcomes this defensive measure by using tandem charge warhead, which has
a pre charge that takes out the ERA layer before the main charge is engaged.
Javelin can be fired in normal ‘straight attack' mode too.
This is useful against bunker or cave entrance, which have strong top cover.
This mode is also effective against low flying helicopters.
The potent capability of Javelin has not gone unnoticed.
Russia’s latest tanks have some countermeasure to defeat Javelin but their effectiveness
is suspect.
1. Newly developed systems like Relikt and Mechanit ERA have dual layers of radar-triggered ERA
plates designed specifically to defeat tandem charge warheads.
The problem with this method is that the radar may not always pick up the incoming missile.
Also the dual layer plates makes the tanks even more heavy impacting mobility to an extend.
2. The Shtora and the latest Afganit Active Protection Systems can deploy ‘soft kill’ grenades
and flares.
These are designed to obscure the tank from infrared seekers by forming a haze surrounding
the tank or confuse them with other heat sources.
But Javelin’s infrared sensor is very advanced and can separate target from obscuring haze
and flares.
3. ‘Hard kill’ defense of Afganit system on the Russia’s latest T-14 tank aims to
shoot incoming missiles down with its own warhead.
But as seen in the design, the tubes that will fire this defensive warhead are angled
horizontally, and will not be able to take out Javelin, which plunges at almost 90-degree angle.
Javelin is in its path to have a 4-fold upgrade to meet future threats:
1. As tank armors improve, Javelin is also stepping up the game.
A new variant, designated the FGM-148F has been developed that has a deadlier blast fragmentation warhead.
2. In an effort to make the system even more compact, a lightweight launcher is being developed.
The new launcher is expected to be 70% smaller, weigh almost half as much.
This will make it easier to carry and fire from almost anywhere.
3. One of the major drawbacks of the current Javelin is its limited range of 2.5 km.
To mitigate this, Javelin is being upgraded to have capability of hitting targets up to 4.5 km away.
4. For better target identification a new laser pointer with upgraded
electronics, a HD camera and superior IR sensor will be introduced.