Tools of War: FGM-148 Javelin Missile

Tanks. I love 'em. Big, powerful beasties with literally tons of armor and armament. They can take all kinds of abuse. They have phenomenal amounts of killing power. I miss my tank. Let's please have a moment of silence as I cry into my beer....

Okay, all better now. Yes, I think tanks are fantastic. However, the good guys aren't the only ones that have tanks. The bad guys also seem to think that they are awfully handy to have around on the battlefield.

The best way to kill a tank is with a helicopter or with another tank. But that's not what I'm here to talk about today. Because as great and wonderful as tanks and attack helicopters are, they don't exactly have the smallest physical and logistical footprints around. "Sure, I've got a couple Longbow Apaches stowed in the back of the HMMWV. Let me get one for ya..." Ummm...no.

So ya wanna stop a tank, and you don't have air assets, another tank, or heavy artillery lying around? Well, you're pretty much left with missiles. Heavy ones, if you want to kill a tank.

M72 name notwithstanding, there really is no such thing as a light anti-tank weapon. If it's going to be able to kill a tank, it's going to be heavy. An AT-4 has a fair chance to immobilize a modern battle tank, but kill one? No way...and it is unguided (making it and LAW actually be considered "rockets", rather than "missiles"). A TOW missile will damn sure kill a tank, but it is a very heavy system and is best suited as a vehicle-mounted weapon or at least emplaced in a dug-in defensive position. Finally, you have the Dragon missile. The Dragon was an adequately lethal AT missile, but it was criticized for being generally inaccurate, needing to be guided all the way to the target, and for being the antithesis of stealth when launched, all of which conspired to make the launcher of the missile as expendable as the missile launcher. Yes, I made a funny....shh.

So the Dragon was replaced by the fine piece of equipment that you see above, the Javelin. The Javelin has a lot going for it.

First and foremost is the fact that it is a fire-and-forget missile. You can pull the trigger and then boogie on over to your hide-site or bunker, or move to your second firing position and engage another target.

Second is the low-profile launch of the missile, which is far less detectable by the enemy that the Dragon, and has a far-reduced launch backblast.

Third is the top-attack mode. Tanks are REEEEALLY heavily armored up front (the end of the tank that is coming toward you, usually), and the sides aren't exactly what you want to call thin either. But the top? That's weak. It has to be...otherwise the hatches would be weighing 700lbs. And it doesn't hurt that there is no smoke trail leading right back to you either. In addition, the Javelin has a tandem charge specifically designed to defeat reactive armor.

Fourth, while no lightweight (almost 50lbs), it is much lighter than a TOW system, and is of similar weight as the Dragon with nightsight. It is therefore able to be used in a greater variety of tactical situations and makes for fewer grumbles from the troops too.

Finally, the Javelin has a much greater range than its predecessor, with a range of 2500 meters versus the Dragon's 1500 meters.

In short, it works very, very well. Here's your video...



By: Steve