What is Javelin Anti-Tank Missile?

26-08-2023

11:49 AM

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What is Javelin Anti-Tank Missile?  Blog Image

Overview:

US and Philippine troops recently fired Javelin anti-tank missiles in their largest ever military drills.

About Javelin Anti-Tank Missile:

  • It is a man-portable antitank guided missile (ATGM) system.
  • 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. 
  • Features:
    • It measures roughly 1.2 m in length, 127 mm in diameter, and weighs 22.1 kg.
    • The missile carries a single 8.4 kg tandem-charge, high-explosive antitank (HEAT) warhead.
    • It has a qualified maximum range of 2,500.
    • It uses “fire-and-forget” technology using automatic infrared guidance to guide itself to the target without external commands or target designation.
    • It is designed to be shoulder-fired but may alternatively be mounted on wheeled or tracked vehicles.
    • It can be used in direct attack mode to destroy a target or, if fired upwards, to shoot down a low-flying aircraft such as a helicopter.
    • Its reload and reacquire time takes around one minute.

Q1: What is a NAG Missile?

NAG is a third Generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile. It was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). NAG missile has been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in all weather conditions with day and night capabilities and with a minimum range of 500 metres and maximum range of 4 kilometres. It is a third-generation fire and forget class missile and uses an imaging infrared seeker in lock-on-before-launch mode.

Source: India, US discussing co-production of Javelin anti-tank missiles