FGM-148 Javelin

JAVELIN ANTI-TANK GUIDED SET
It is a portable anti-tank set supplied by Raytheonon/Lockheed Martin. The PTRK is portable shoulder-fired but can also be installed on a tracked, wheeled amphibious vehicle.
In 1989, the US Army contracted for the development of the JAVELIN as a replacement for the M47 DRAGON anti-tank guided complex. JAVELIN was developed at Texas Instruments (now Raytheon) and Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles. full production of JAVELIN began in 1994 and the first systems were delivered in July 1996 to the US Army at Fort Benning, Over 9,000 cruise missiles were produced. JAVELIN was also put into operational service with the US Army, USMC and Australian Special Forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom in March/April 2003.
In January 2003, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that they had decided to procure JAVELIN as a Light Forces Anti-Tank Guided Weapon System (LFATGWS). The first 18 launchers and 144 JAVELIN guided missiles will replace the PTRK Milan and will be inducted into the British Army's Rapid Reaction Forces, (including the 16th Air Assault Brigade, three COMMANDO brigades), in 2005. Other armies that have ordered JAVELIN are Taiwan, Lithuania, Jordan, Australia, Norway, Ireland and Canada.


GUIDED MISSILE
The JAVELIN system consists of a launcher (CLU) and a missile. The CLU, weighing 6.4kg, The launcher is used to detect and aim the complex at the target with integrated day vision and thermal imaging. It uses DRS technology based on SADA IIIA. The firing controls are integrated on the CLU. The day sight provides 4 x magnification and the night sight provides 4.2 and 9.2 x magnification.
The missile consists of a rocket and a launch tube assembly. The range of the missile is 2,500 m. JAVELIN is of the shoot-and-forget generation of missiles. Once the target is locked on, the target is locked in the launcher's fire control system and the missile is independently guided to the target after firing. The missile is equipped with an infrared imaging seeker. The tandem warhead is equipped with two cumulative charges: the first sets off the explosive reactive armour and the warhead barrel penetrates the armour. The propulsion system is a two-stage developed so that the missile leaves a minimal smoke trail.


ACTIVITY
The system is deployed and ready to fire in less than 30s and reloads the next round in less than 20s. The missile is mounted on the launcher and the gunner locates the target by observation through the CLU, and places it in a deliberate crosshairs. The shooter locks on to the target and the target is entered into the seeker in the missile warhead. When the system is locked and, the missile is ready, it fires and no longer needs to interfere with missile control after firing it can load another missile or leave the firing position. Unlike conventional wire-guided or laser-guided missiles, JAVELIN is autonomously guided to the target.
The launcher charge ejects the guided missile from the launch case. The soft launch allows firing indoors or from covered positions (minimum room size is 4.5x3.6 m ceiling height 2.1 m). When the missile is launched from the package, the larger propellant in the second stage is initiated and the missile is propelled towards the target. The weapon has two attack modes, direct or overhead attack. The shooter selects the direct attack mode especially on covered targets, bunkers, buildings, and helicopters. Overhead attack is selected against tanks, in which case the missile rises above the target and penetrates the top of the tank turret where there is the smallest layer of armor. The cruise missile is launched at an angle of 18° and reaches a height of 160 m in a direct attack mode of 60 m in a top attack.

Javelin

The rear part of the FGM-148C missile.

View of the control handles:
The left handle is on the left:
- Filter switch (used to increase the selectivity of the sensor in case of interference in the IR spectrum),
- the rocker switch for focusing,
- the day/IR wide/IR narrow/sensor display switch (only if activated) is toggled by pressing it over and over again.


The black knob on the side activates the system, the positions are from the top:
- off,
- day mode,
- night mode,
- test.


Diopter correction can be set on the eyepiece.


The statement about readiness to fire within 30 s is a bit misleading - it is valid only if the sensor is already cold, which takes about 2.5-3.5 minutes depending on the ambient temperature (the warmer the longer). Otherwise, it is not possible to shoot in IC mode, but only in day mode and on a target with sufficient thermal contrast (meant relative to the background).

View of the FGM-148 warhead. The jagged surface is a precursor cumulative warhead designed to destroy reactive armour, with the control bus and electronics underneath.

View of the rear of the FMG-148 with throttle controls for engine thrust vectoring.

Sources:
TM 9-1425-688-10, OPERATOR'S MANUAL FOR THE JAVELIN WEAPON SYSTEM M98A1
D. Armstrong, Naval Surface Weapon Center, conference paper, 2009, Unclassified

source:
www.reddit.com

Královskí sailors from the 40th Commando.

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An FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile set manned by members of the Special Forces Support Center at the Joint Fires Experimental 2022 exercise, Hradiště Military Base, September/October 2022. The exercise took place from 26 September to 7 October 2022 and involved air, special and cyber forces in addition to ground forces. For example. unmanned reconnaissance vehicles ScanEagle, Raven, and Dragonfly A, an unmanned ground reconnaissance vehicle UGV-Pz were used, artillery radar ARTHUR, modular combat suites, handheld anti-aircraft systems RBS-70 NG and cruise missiles Spike-LR and Javelin.


The aim of the exercise was to test and verify the coordination and cooperation between ground units and support units such as air, cyber or special forces in this exercise. At the same time, the Army wanted to verify the integration of newly introduced equipment. Emphasis was placed on the interoperability of selected technologies and weapon systems that will continue to form the backbone of fire support for manoeuvre units. Much of the focus was directed toward initial detection of the enemy by reconnaissance units using the latest reconnaissance assets, followed by information transfer, processing and evaluation by the intelligence specialist, through to the command decision and request for fire support. Soldiers rehearsed six separate scenarios to test the current capabilities of different types of fire support for manoeuvre units, to identify potential reserves and to outline the future of fire support.

Photo:
Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic - www.army.cz

Zlyhaná raketa z FGM-148 "Javelin", pravdepodobná príčina - porucha motora

Ruský test FGM-148 Javelin.

Zničenie ruského BMD-4 pomocou protitankového systému FGM-148 Javelin a následne FPV-kamikadze zaútočí na Rusov. Severozápadne od obce Verbove, región Záporožia.

Destrucción de un BMD-4 ruso con la ayuda de un sistema antitanque FGM-148 "Javelin" y luego con un FPV-kamikaze ataca al ruso. Al noroeste del pueblo de Verbove, región de Zaporizhzhia. pic.twitter.com/T6EHTxq5V9
— Poderío Militar 🇪🇸🤝🇺🇦 (@PoderioMilitar) January 12, 2024

Under the US Foreign Military Sales programme, the provision of a complet to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kosovo is being considered. Kosovo has expressed interest in a total of 246 FGM-148F PTRS (including 6 fly-to-buy missiles, which will be used to verify the functionality of the series prior to their acceptance by the buyer) and 24 Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units (LWCLUs). The relevant proposal was transmitted to the US Congress on 11.01.2024. In addition to the launchers and missiles, the delivery also includes trainers for crew training (Javelin LWCLU Basic Skills Trainers; Javelin Outdoor Trainers; Missile Simulation Rounds; Outdoor Training Instructor Stations (OTIS)), battery cooling units, related training and technical documentation, crew and technical staff training and lifecycle logistics support. The total cost is estimated at $75 million.

Source: www.dsca.mil

Operátor Javelinu "Gagauz", veliteľ protitankového tímu 79. samostatnej údernej výsadkovej brigády, zničil viac ako 40 nepriateľských vozidiel. Hovorí, že bude pokračovať v práci, kým už nebude môcť. "Keď Rusi dostanú spätnú väzbu, zabudnú na svoju bojovú taktiku".

Ukrajinská armáda používa na fronte americký protitankový komplet FGM-148 Javelin.

⚡️The 🇺🇦Ukrainian military uses the 🇺🇸American ATGM FGM-148 Javelin at the front pic.twitter.com/uLqtSWgxpI
— 🇺🇦Ukrainian Front (@front_ukrainian) March 17, 2024

Studijní práce ve prospěch tohoto projektu zadávala DARPA civilním univerzitám už někdy od roku 1983, akademici se tu a tam na vědeckých konferencích pochlubili výsledky své práce v obecné rovině ze kterých se dalo analyzovat, že snímač hlavice pracuje na vlnové délce 3-5 um, má rozlišení 64 pixelů a optické zpracování obrazu pracuje na principu tehdy nejmódnějšího principu neuronových sítí. Firma Texas Instruments dokonce vyvinula mikroprocesor s topologií přizpůsobenou přesně tomuto zadání. Po roce 1990 se podobné informace přesunuly do neveřejných, a všechny komerčně dostupné programy pracují na PC/Windows nikoliv na specializovaných čipech.


Raketa se prodává za 90 000 USD kus, a řídící systém (CLU ) za 125 000 USD. Tím více je udivující informace, že britští commandos měli v Afghanistámu povoleno použití i proti postavení s kulometem.