Javelin Missile

Javelin Missile Latest News

The U.S. State Department recently approved a possible sale of Javelin missiles and Excalibur projectiles and related equipment to India for an estimated total cost of $92.8 million.

About Javelin Missile

• It is an American-made, man-portable, anti-tank guided missile. 
• It is developed and produced jointly by American defence majors Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
• It was designed to defeat heavily armored vehicles such as main battle tanks and lighter-skinned military vehicles.
• The weapon also has capability against other target types like fortifications, bunkers, and helicopters.
• It first entered service with the U.S. military in 1996. 

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Javelin Missile Features

• It has an effective range of 2.5 km, with newer models reportedly capable of reaching up to 4 kilometers.
• Weight: 5.11 kg
• It can be employed from confined spaces due to its soft-launch mechanism.
• It uses “fire-and-forget” technology to guide itself to the target without external commands or target designation. 
• Its imaging-infrared seeker enables independent homing once fired, allowing operators to take cover immediately.
• The missile can engage targets using either a direct or top-attack mode, with the latter designed to exploit vulnerabilities in the thinner armor on the tops of tanks.
• Its tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead is designed to defeat explosive reactive armour, which is increasingly common on contemporary main battle tanks.

What is the Excalibur Projectile?

• It is a GPS-guided artillery shell fired from large guns like howitzers. 
• It was developed in a collaborative effort between the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC). 
• India already uses the Excalibur artillery ammunition in its M-777 Howitzer guns. 
• Excaliburs are capable of engaging targets beyond the reach of conventional artillery even in challenging terrains.
• They are capable of striking within two metres of the target “regardless of range.” 
• This weapon system also extends the reach of 39-calibre artillery to 40 kilometres, 52-calibre artillery to 50 kilometres, and 58-calibre artillery to 70 kilometres
• The guided shells are capable of causing little to no collateral damage due to this accuracy factor.

Source: TH