The Javelin anti-tank missile system is so popular that countries outside the United States want to enter into agreements to produce it jointly. India is working with America in a potential effort to bring production of the Javelin to Indian shores. India has been dependent on the Israeli Spike anti-tank missile that was first designed in the late 1970s. Now the Indian army, after seeing the huge level of success the Javelin has enjoyed in Ukraine, wants to produce their own Javelin units in a joint venture.
While the manufacturing project is only in initial discussions, the Indians are excited that they could supply their army with Javelins and create jobs and economic development for their homegrown defense industrial base.
This Helps the U.S. Defense Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
This also fits into a broader defense strategy for the United States. China continues to be a military threat, and the more Americans work closer with allies in the Indo-Pacific, the more Beijing can be contained. A defense partnership for producing such a valuable and well-known system like the Javelin is sure to make the Chinese take notice.
St. Javelin Enters the Lexicon
The U.S. Army has always highly valued the Javelin anti-tank system. But it wasn’t until the war in Ukraine that the anti-tank system entered into popular discourse.
The Ukrainians quickly dubbed it “St. Javelin” as it made a tremendous difference on the battlefield, enabling Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces to survive the initial invasion from Russia by eliminating numerous tanks and armored personnel carriers attempting to take Kyiv.
How Does the Javelin Work?
The FGM-148 Javelin is one of the best ways for a soldier to reach out to a tank and send it to an early grave. The Javelin is portable, reusable, and shoulder-fired.
It works like this. The gunner finds a tank or armored vehicle in day or night with the Command Launch Unit. This sends an infrared picture to the seeker system. There are several imaging modes, including thermal viewing, for a lock on target. Then the missile is clear to launch. You simply fire and forget. You don’t have to keep looking at the enemy tank to sight it in. You can duck back into a hiding position or run to another covered and concealed point. Then repeat the process.
Tanks Don’t Have a Chance
Here’s what happens to the missile after launch. The first motor engages for the initial five to ten meters. Then the main propellant takes over and the missile flies upward in an arc toward the tank. On its downward trajectory, it focuses on the weakest part of the vehicle – the upper turret. The resulting explosion leaves a burning hulk of twisted metal and carnage.
There Is A Lot to Like
The Javelin can also be used in direct attack mode, launching horizontally at low levels against bunkers, buildings, and other emplacements.
A loaded Javelin launcher weighs only 49 pounds and has a top range of 2.5 miles. The Javelin was used at least 5,000 times during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and entered service with the U.S. Army in 1996.
More Details About the Javelin
The 18.5-pound warhead is a tandem-charged high-explosive anti-tank round. The Javelin also does not produce a large backblast like other anti-tank systems, making it difficult for the adversary to detect where the launch is coming from.
Javelin Saves the Day
Without the Javelin, and other anti-tank missile systems like the NLAW, the Ukrainians could have lost much more territory including failing to hold Kyiv during the initial invasion. Other countries like India are taking note and want to either order the system or build it at home in a joint venture.
In wartime, some weapons become so well-known they take on an identity for themselves. Ukrainians have sung songs about the Javelin. There are St. Javelin t-shirts. It is only a matter of time before other militaries – like the Indians – want the same level of force multiplication and asymmetric capabilities on their side.
So, hail to the Javelin. This weapon has transformed armored warfare. Massive numbers of Russian main battle tanks did not overwhelm the Ukrainians. We can thank the Javelin for that. It shows that motivated and brave individual fighters, armed with modern weapon systems, can win against huge machines that outnumber them. This is a valuable lesson for future mechanized warfare.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
