The
Javelin system was developed and is built by a joint
venture formed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
The FGM-148 Javelin is an American-made man-portable
anti-tank guided missile and employable fire-and-forget
medium-range missile system. Designed to take the
fight to the enemy, the compact, lightweight Javelin
is ideally suited for one-soldier operation in all
environments. The Javelin has been combat proven
in Afghanistan and Iraq by U.S. and allied soldiers,
Marines and Special Forces. Eleven countries have
selected Javelin to meet anti-armor requirements.
The Javelin has secondary capabilities against helicopters
and ground-fighting positions. Its direct-attack
capability will engage targets with overhead cover
or in bunkers. Its "soft launch" allows
employment from within buildings and enclosed fighting
positions. The soft launch signature limits the
gunner's exposure to the enemy, thus increasing
survivability. French Army instructors will launch
their first U.S. Javelin missile for practice on
Dec. 16 at the Canjuers base, a step forward in
plans to rapidly deploy the weapon in the Afghan
theater, a U.S. official said and the French Army
has confirmed.
The
Javelin system consists of the CLU (Command
Launch Unit) and the round. The CLU, with
a carry weight of 6.4kg, incorporates a
passive target acquisition and fire control
unit with an integrated day sight and a
thermal imaging sight. The gunner's controls
for the missile system are on the CLU. The
day sight is equipped with x4 magnification
and the night sight with x4 and x9 magnification
optics.
Missile
The
Javelin missile’s tandem warhead is
a high-explosive antitank round. This round
utilizes an explosive shaped charge to create
a jet of superplasticity deformed metal
formed from trumpet-shaped metallic liners.
The result is a high velocity jet that can
penetrate armor.
Operation
The
missile has a small thermal imaging TV camera
in the nose and a computer that is sufficiently
sophisticated that once locked onto a tank,
it will follow it autonomously, even if
it is moving. The missile is designed to
attack the topside of a tank where the armor
is thinner. After launch, the missile climbs
to a 330-660 ft altitude and dives at a
45-degree angle. The warhead is a tandem
shaped-charge for penetrating explosive
reactive armor. The first charge detonates
the armor and the second penetrates the
vehicle. The Javelin can defeat any known
enemy armor.
Accessories
The
first view is a 4× magnification day
view. It is mainly used to scan areas for
light during night operation because light
is not visible in the thermal views. The
second view is the 4x magnification night
view, and shows the gunner a thermal representation
of the area viewed. This is also the primary
view used due to its ability to detect infrared
radiation and find both troops and vehicles
otherwise too well hidden to detect. The
third view is a 9x magnification thermal
view. This process is similar to the automatic
zoom feature on most modern cameras.
Specification
Type
of weapons
Anti-tank
guided missile
Producer
Raytheon
/ Lockheed Martin
Country
users
Australia,
France, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Canada,
Czech Republic, India,Ireland, Jordan,
Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Oman,
Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom,
United States, Hong Kong.
Visiting
French President Francois Hollande said at the White House on Friday,
May 18, 2012, that he stood by the pledge to withdraw French forces
from Afghanistan by the end of 2012. ...
