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why is russian tank so afraid of america's javelin anti-tank missiles
the us-made fgm 148 javelin is one of the premier portable anti-tank missile systems in the world
it's also an expensive piece of kit with each
missile typically costing more than the targets it eliminates
javelin has proven itself in combat in iraq afghanistan and syria and has reliable shtick
that should work on virtually any tank out there it hits them on the weak top armor
it also exposes its crew to less danger than the typical guided missile system
because it's such a lightweight system it may end up being a first responder on the
ground to emergencies that could be described as massive unexpected tank invasions a scenario the
us military could have faced during operation desert shield when it deployed light infantry
to defend saudi arabia and currently fears in the baltics within the u.s military the javelin
also looks set to transition from being purely an infantry system to being mounted on vehicles
so do they actually work
the javelin was designed in the 70s and 80s
when the leaders of the u s military had nightmares about being overrun by endless
hordes of soviet tanks a fear worsened by the generally poor performance of the m47 dragon
missile in use at the time however the javelin finally entered service with the us military in
1996 after the cold war had ended and first saw action in 2003 during the u.s invasion of iraq at
the time the united states was not able to deploy troops in northern iraq by land so it instead of
aired dropped special forces and paratroopers that fought alongside kurdish peshmerga fighters in the
battle of de becca pass a force of a few dozen special forces operators and a larger peshmerga
contingent engaged and destroyed an iraqi mechanized company of over a hundred soldiers
the us force had just four javelin launch units nineteen javelin's missiles were fired seventeen
of which hit destroying two t 55 tanks eight mtlb armored personnel carriers and several trucks
reportedly all of the javelin shots were made at 2 200 meters range or further close to or
exceeding the official maximum range of the weapon and one hit was even reported at 4 200 meters
javelins and knocked out several more tanks during the iraq war including type 69 tanks and lion of
babylon t-72s none of them cutting edge types as the conventional phase of the conflict ended
the javelin's main duty soon came to sniping smaller softer targets the javelin's precise
targeting scope was ideal for spotting taking out at long ranges insurgent heavy weapons teams
armed with machine guns missiles or recoilless rifles as well as the occasional pickup truck
other weapon systems available to the infantry lack the combination of long range and precision
the irony of using javelins to destroy pickup trucks and machine guns is that the roughly eighty
thousand dollar javelin missiles cost considerably more than the weapon systems they are destroying
this has reportedly has led us forces to at times hold back on using the weapon
in afghanistan though considered a lighter weapon than the vehicle-mounted tow missile
significantly larger numbers of tow missiles have been expended since 2003
how does one throw these anti-tank spears
the javelin doesn't look as sleek and deadly as its name would have you think it resembles a
clunky dumbbell slightly over one meter in length fortunately you don't need good looks to blow up a
tank the javelin's command launch unit clu has a sophisticated infrared sensor with multiple
viewing modes including 4x optical zoom a 4x green lit thermal view and a 12x narrow vision zoom
activated for targeting the seeker in the missile even provides a fourth 9x thermal viewing mode
the clu can therefore serve as a handy scanning device for the infantry the thermal viewers
on the javelin need to be cooled off to function well which theoretically takes
30 seconds but might take a bit longer if you're in baghdad and it's a breezy 120 degrees at noon
the system also incorporates multiple safeguards to avert or abort accidental launch the gunner
could play candy crush on their cell phone if they wanted to because unlike most long-range anti-tank
missiles the javelin is a fire and forget system and requires no further input after lunch
the javelin crew is free to duck into cover and concealment rather than being forced to
remain fixed in place guiding the missile towards the target as is necessary with semi-automatic
command line of sight cyclos systems such as the wire guided tow or laser guided at
14 cornet however the latest infrared sensors have also improved in their ability to see
through obscuring haze and distinguished flares from the original target and hard kill active
defenses designed to shoot incoming missiles down would need to be able to shoot vertically
above the tank to tackle a top attack javelin which the new afkinate system on the t-14 tank
with launch tubes nestled at a horizontal angle under the turret doesn't seem capable of doing
the future of the javelin
the javelin has undergone quite a few upgrades since initial deployment in 1996. let's take a
look at three of the most important ones given that the javelin has been used primarily to
hit soft targets and structures a new version of the javelin warhead with a deadlier blast
fragmentation has been introduced designated the fgm-148f this new warhead is supposedly just as
effective against tanks and no costlier than its predecessors the javelin would represent a more
flexible weapon than the older toes as the launch vehicle can move immediately out of danger after
firing the javelin if the upgrade is implemented even the united states lighter armored vehicles
will be bristling with anti-tank firepower and the ability to launch precision-guided missile attacks
the political battlefield
the javelin is one of the us military's most effective man-portable weapon systems they're
available to frontline infantry squads in the marines and army the united states has provided
120 javelin launch units to estonia and 260 to lithuania if the baltic states were invaded by
russian armor not truly a likely event but one much worried about because the small
nato countries would be hard to defend light infantry wielding javelins would basically
serve as the baltic's first line of defense on the ground until nato mobilized theoretically
the same policy applies to various syrian rebel groups being supplied arms by the united states
including kurdish groups opposed by turkey the united states with older tow acknowledges
hey bring the vehicle down
i was watching the video