The U.S. Army awarded the Javelin Joint Venture (JJV), a partnership between Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, and Lockheed Martin, a $215 million production contract for Lightweight Command Launch Units, or LWCLU. The LWCLU, the next-generation launcher for the Javelin® weapon system, is replacing its legacy command launch unit. The Javelin LWCLU is designed to be adaptable and compatible with all current, past and future Javelin variants. The award comes five months after the JJV delivered the first LWCLUs to the Army. The Javelin LWCLU is 30% smaller and 25% lighter, while doubling target detection and recognition, compared to the current Block I Command Launch Unit. The LWCLU maximizes surveillance for soldiers, while offering day and night engagement capability.
“The LWCLU contract award is a powerful testament to the JJV’s ongoing commitment to meeting the warfighter’s most critical needs,” said Rich Liccion, vice president, JJV and program director, Lockheed Martin Javelin. “This achievement reflects what we can accomplish when innovation is driven by purpose and a relentless focus on the mission we support.”
“This contract reflects the strong partnership between industry and the Army to sustain and advance the Javelin system,” said Jenna Hunt Frazier, JJV president and Javelin program director at Raytheon. “By modernizing our factory and strengthening our production line, we’re ensuring soldiers receive a lighter, more capable launcher that improves operational readiness across the force.”
The FGM-148 Javelin, or Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium (AAWS-M), is an American-made man-portable anti-tank system in service since 1996 and continuously upgraded. Javelin is developed and produced by the JJV between Raytheon, in Tucson, Arizona, and Lockheed Martin in Orlando, Florida. Its fire-and-forget design features automatic infrared guidance, allowing the user to seek cover immediately after launch. The Javelin’s high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead can defeat modern tanks by top-down attack, hitting them from above, where their armor is thinnest, and is useful against fortifications in a direct attack flight.
The Javelin Joint Venture (JJV) is a highly successful strategic partnership between Raytheon (an RTX business) and Lockheed Martin, established to develop, produce, and sustain the world-renowned FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank weapon system. Combining Raytheon’s expertise in guidance electronics and seeker systems with Lockheed Martin’s leadership in missile engineering and final assembly, the joint venture has delivered over 55,000 missiles and 12,000 Command Launch Units to global partners. As of October 2026, the partnership continues to advance military modernization by securing a $215 million U.S. Army contract for the production of the next-generation Lightweight Command Launch Unit (LWCLU)—which is 30% smaller and 25% lighter—while simultaneously expanding its global manufacturing footprint through a recent co-production agreement with Tata Advanced Systems Limited in India.
