FGM-148 Javelin
The FGM-148 Javelin, or Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium, 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. 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 warhead can defeat modern tanks by top-down attack, hitting them from above, where their armor is thinnest, and is useful against fortifications in a direct attack flight. The Javelin uses a tandem charge warhead to circumvent an enemy tank's explosive reactive armor, which would normally render HEAT warheads ineffective.
, according to claims by the manufacturer, the Javelin had been used in around five thousand successful engagements. By August 2021, fifty thousand missiles had been delivered to customers.
The weapon made its combat debut in Iraq in 2003 and rose to prominence in the Russo-Ukrainian War, where it saw extensive usage by Ukrainian forces during the early stages of the 2022 Russian invasion.
Overview
Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance. The system employs a top attack flight profile against armored vehicles, attacking the usually thinner top armor, but can also make a direct attack, for use against buildings, targets too close for top attack, targets under obstructions, and helicopters.It can reach a peak altitude of in top attack mode and in direct attack mode. Initial versions had a range of, later increased to. It is equipped with an imaging infrared seeker. The tandem warhead is fitted with two shaped charges: a precursor warhead to detonate any explosive reactive armor and a primary warhead to penetrate base armor.
In what is known as a "soft launch arrangement", the missile is ejected from the launcher to a safe distance from the operator before the main rocket motors ignite. This makes it harder to identify the launcher, though backblast from the launch tube still poses a hazard to nearby personnel. The firing team may move as soon as the "fire-and-forget" missile has been launched or immediately prepare to fire on their next target.
The missile system is sometimes carried by two soldiers consisting of a gunner and an ammunition bearer, although one soldier can fire it. While the gunner aims and fires the missile, the ammunition bearer scans for prospective targets, watches for threats like enemy vehicles or troops and ensures that personnel and obstacles are clear of the missile's launch backblast.
Development
In 1983, the United States Army introduced its AAWS-M requirement. In 1985, the AAWS-M was approved for development. In August 1986, the proof-of-principle phase of development began, with a US$30 million contract awarded for technical proof demonstrators: Ford Aerospace, Hughes Aircraft Missile System Group and Texas Instruments. In late 1988, the POP phase ended. In June 1989, the full-scale development contract was awarded to a joint venture of Texas Instruments and Martin Marietta, now Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. The AAWS-M received the designation of FGM-148.In April 1991, the first test-flight of the Javelin succeeded, and in March 1993, the first test-firing from the launcher succeeded. In 1994, low levels of production were authorized, and the first Javelins were deployed with US Army units in 1996.
Test and evaluation
The General Accounting Office, since renamed Government Accountability Office, published a report questioning the adequacy of Javelin testing.- involving operational testers early in development;
- use of modelling and simulation;
- integrating development and operational testing;
- combining testing and training.
The Institute for Defense Analyses and the Defense Department's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation became involved in three development test activities, including
- reviewing initial operational test and evaluation plans;
- monitoring initial operational test and evaluation;
- structuring follow-on test and evaluation activities.
Qualification testing
The all-up-round test sets include: extreme temperature testing; missile tracker testing ; seeker/focal plane array testing ; pneumatic leakage; continuity measurements; ready time; and guidance sections.
Components
The system consists of three main components: the Command Launch Unit, the Launch Tube Assembly and the missile itself. Each missile contains 250 microprocessors.Command launch unit
The gunner carries a reusable command launch unit, which is the targeting component of the two-part system. The CLU has three views, which are used to find, target, and fire the missile and may be used separately from the missile as a portable thermal sight. Infantry personnel are no longer required to stay in constant contact with armored personnel carriers and tanks with thermal sights. This makes them more flexible and able to perceive threats they would not otherwise be able to detect. In 2006, a contract was awarded to Toyon Research Corporation to begin development of an upgrade to the CLU, enabling the transmission of target image and GPS location data to other units.Day field of view
The first view is a 4× magnification day view. It is mainly used to scan areas in visible light during daylight operation. It is also used to scan immediately before sunrise and after sunset, when it is difficult to focus the thermal image due to the natural rapid heating or cooling of the environment.Wide field of view
The second view is the 4× magnification night view, a wide field of view which shows the gunner a thermal representation of the area viewed. This is 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 screen shows a "green scale" view which can be adjusted in both contrast and brightness. The inside of the CLU is cooled by a small refrigeration unit attached to the sight. This greatly increases the sensitivity of the thermal imaging capability, since the temperature inside the sight is much lower than that of the objects it detects.Due to the sensitivity this causes, the gunner is able to "focus" the CLU to show a detailed image of the area being viewed, by showing temperature differences of only a few degrees. The gunner operates this view with the use of two hand stations similar to the control stick found in modern cockpits. It is from this view that the gunner focuses the image and determines the area that gives the best heat signature on which to lock the missile.
Narrow field of view
The third field of view is a 12× thermal sight, used to better identify the target vehicle. Once the CLU has been focused in WFOV, the gunner may switch to a narrow field of view for target recognition before activating the seeker FOV.Once the best target area is chosen, the gunner presses one of the two triggers and is automatically switched to the fourth view, the seeker FOV, which is a 9x magnification thermal view. This process is similar to the automatic zoom feature on most modern cameras. This view is available along with the previously mentioned views, all of which may be accessed with the press of a button. However, it is not as commonly used as a high-magnification view, because it takes longer to scan a wide area.
This view allows the gunner to further aim the missile and set the guidance system housed inside it. It is when in this view that information is passed from the CLU, through the connection electronics of the launch tube assembly, and into the missile's guidance system. If the gunner decides not to fire the missile immediately, they can cycle back to the other views without firing. When the gunner is satisfied with the target picture, a second trigger is pulled to establish a "lock". The missile launches after a short delay.
Lightweight CLU
The US Army developed a new CLU as an improvement over the Block I version. The new CLU is 70% smaller, 40% lighter and has a 50% battery life increase. Features of the lightweight CLU are: a long-wave infrared thermographic camera; a high-definition display with improved resolution; integrated handgrips; a five-megapixel color camera; a laser point that can be seen visibly or through IR; a far target locator using GPS, a laser rangefinder, a heading sensor, and modernized electronics. The LW CLU has demonstrated the ability to fire a FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missile, using its superior optics to identify and destroy small unmanned aerial vehicles. Compared to the Block I Command Launch Unit, the Lightweight CLU will double target identification range and increase system engagement range from 2.5 kilometers to 4 km.The Javelin Joint Venture received its first low-rate production contract for the LW CLU in June 2022. 200 units will be delivered before full-rate production is expected to initiate in 2023, which will increase the production rate to 600 per year. First delivery is slated for 2025.