The FGM-148 Javelin is an American man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missile fielded to replace the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile in US service. The JAVELIN is a manportable, antitank system developed for the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). Highly lethal against tanks with conventional and reactive armor, JAVELIN will provide a medium antitank capability to the infantry, scouts, and combat engineers.
A simple-to-operate, economically maintained, rugged and reliable infantry system, JAVELIN has two major components: a reusable Command Launch Unit (CLU) and a missile sealed in a disposable Launch Tube Assembly. The CLU incorporates an integrated day/night sight and provides target engagement capability in adverse weather and countermeasure environments. The launch unit also may be used in the stand-alone mode for battlefield surveillance and target detection.
For operation of the system, the round must be mated with the CLU. The missile, with a warhead designed to defeat both conventional and reactive armor, may be used at the gunner’s discretion in top attack or direct fire mode. Top attack is the normal mode of operation, while direct fire is for engaging targets under cover.
The Javelin’s HEAT warhead is capable of defeating modern tanks by attacking them from above, and is also useful against fortifications in a direct attack flight. The key feature of the JAVELIN is the use of fire-and-forget technology that allows the gunner to fire and immediately take cover. Additional special features are the advanced tandem warhead, imaging infrared seeker, target lock-on before launch, and soft launch (the JAVELIN can be fire safely from enclosures and covered fighting positions). JAVELIN is designed to replace the DRAGON.
