Japan Type 01 LMAT (ATM-5) VS FGM-148 Javelin ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile) Missile launch blast Comparison video. The Type 01 LMAT, while used for infantry in anti-tank roles, can be mounted on the Komatsu LAV for a mobile anti-tank platform. The Type 01 LMAT is a Japanese man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missile. Development began in 1993 at Kawasaki Heavy Industries and was accepted into service in 2001. During development, the missile was designated with the codename XATM-5. The “LMAT” portion of the designation stands for “Kei-Tai-Sensha Yudo-Dan” translating to “Light, Anti-Tank, Guided Missile”, it was later known shortly as the ATM-5.
What Japanese engineers developed was a shoulder-held launch tube with integrated optics and a ready-to-fire missile – comparable to the American FGM-148 “Javelin” series. The complete system weighs 17.5 kilograms with the missile 11.5 kilograms of the weapon’s weight. The launch tube measures 970mm with a diameter of 140mm and actual caliber of 120mm. An integral optical system (thermographic camera) is offset to the left, front side of the weapon with optimal engagement ranges out to 1.25 miles and detonation of the tandem-charged HEAT (High-Explosive, Anti-Tank) warhead through basic impact forces. At the heart of the system is its missile – a solid fuel, rocket-propelled munition reaching speeds of 13,000 feet per second while guided by an image infrared homing design. Unlike the early class of wire-guided AT missile systems of the Cold War years in service with the JGSDF and elsewhere, the Type 01 LMAT has become a true “fire-and-forget” system not requiring direct Line-of-Sight (LoS) between operator and target nor does it require operator management during the missile’s flight to the target.
The Type 01 LMAT is a relatively compact battlefield weapon aided in transport and during marches by an included shoulder. The system can be operated by a single person – including airborne troopers in dire need of such firepower particularly against the threat of tanks. The missile is capable of defeating current-generation combat armor as well as more advanced Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) block schemes used throughout the world.
In Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the 1st Airborne Brigade is used as its main anti-armor weapon. The LMAT’s missile warhead is tandem HEAT, its two-stage warhead making it effective against ERA protected vehicles. The Type 01 LMAT, while used for infantry in anti-tank roles, can be mounted on the Komatsu LAV for a mobile anti-tank platform. But due to the post-World War 2 Japanese constitution, which restricted weapons exportation, the Type 01 LMAT has not been seen in the inventories of other global players. However, the recent relaxation of said restriction could set the stage for foreign sales at a near-future date.
