Javelin: supporting those on the battlefield around the world

Demonstrating 20 years of proven performance, the Javelin Joint Venture (JJV) – a partnership between Lockheed Martin in Orlando, Florida and Raytheon Missiles & Defense in Tucson, Arizona – continues to go above and beyond to provide the premier anti-armor system to the world.

“Javelin’s versatility and fire-and-forget guidance technology make Javelin the weapon of choice for precision target engagement and affords users the highest level of survivability and immediate mobility,” says Jerry Brode, vice president of Close Combat Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Javelin has helped save time on the battlefield, which in the end saves lives by providing its users with the top-notch defense they need when it matters most.”

With more than 20 allied international partners, Javelin has become a mainstay weapon system that countries can depend on to put distance between the warfighter and their adversaries.

The F-Model adds an advanced, multipurpose warhead, designed to preserve penetration capability against advanced armor, including current and future armor. This multi-purpose warhead adds a fragmenting steel case to significantly increase effectiveness against soft targets and light armored vehicles. The updated warhead also combines multiple warhead effects, such as blast fragmentation and high-explosive anti-tank, into a single missile.

“The Javelin F-Model offers significant operational flexibility to our Australian military partners. To help prepare our warfighters for any mission, we’ve increased the operational flexibility of F-Model by reducing the need for different rounds for different targets,” says David Pantano, Javelin Joint Venture Vice President and Lockheed Martin program director. “The multipurpose warhead prepares our Australian users for every mission by reducing the need for different rounds for different targets.”

The JJV produced and delivered the first F-Model missile to the US Army in May 2020. The F-Model is currently in full rate production and the Javelin is expected to continue supporting the warfighter until 2050.

The LWCLU will bring a 30 percent reduction in size and a 25 percent reduction in weight while doubling the target detection, recognition and identification. The LWCLU is backwards compatible with all prior Javelin missile configurations to offer increased flexibility in the field.

“The advancements in both the weapon and the launcher translate to an exceptional advantage for soldiers on the battlefield,” says Marek Wolert, Javelin Joint Venture President and Raytheon Missiles & Defense program director. “Making systems easier to carry, more precise for targeting, and more effective against a threat – that’s what it’s all about.”

Sensor, display and image processing upgrades provide high-resolution video imagery to the operator, increasing the DRI range performance over the current Block 1 CLU. The LWCLU also incorporates image blending, stabilization, digital zoom and local area processing to realize high levels of performance even in the presence of adverse weather and battlefield obscurants.

Awarded a contract in June 2022, the LWCLU is entering low-rate initial production and is scheduled to begin deliveries in 2025.

Through the collaborative efforts of the JJV, both Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles & Defense are investing to increase their production rates to continue supporting our international allies for years to come.

On May 25, 2021, the JJV conducted a four-shot, multi-platform demonstration at the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center in Alabama, successfully engaging all four targets. The Javelin firing demonstration used three different ground platforms: Oshkosh’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), Qinetiq North America’s Robotic Combat Vehicle-Light (RCV-L) and Flyer Defense’s Ground Mobility Vehicle. This firing demonstrated its versatile platform integration capabilities, showing how Javelin can maintain its precision and performance no matter the configuration or platform type.

In April 2021, Stryker performed two extended range Javelin firings at the Redstone Arsenal. The first shot was a day shot, and the second was a night shot – both of which were successful and demonstrated Javelin’s reliability and effectiveness as an extended weapon system on the Stryker platform in the field. Javelin has been fielded on the CROWS-J across the U.S. Army Stryker 8×8 vehicle brigades in Europe.

Vehicle integrations furthers Javelin’s utility to the warfighter, it enables Javelin operators increased flexibility and lethality as they’re able to engage targets and rapidly move to a new firing position.

“The use of Javelin has had far-reaching impact beyond the battlefield,” says Pantano. “Our Javelin program team strives to deliver innovative products that are reliable, capable and drive performance excellence. At the end of the day, it is always of the utmost importance to our team that we ensure our products, like Javelin, successfully defend and return our warfighters safely home to their families.”

Javelin has been able to develop strategic long-term international partnerships, like with Australia, which in turn allows customers around the world to use Javelin to deter and defend against any potential threats. Javelin is currently in-service with the U.S. military and 22 allied countries and is planned to remain in service with the United States military through 2050.

In October 2020, the U.S. approved the sale of 200 Javelin missiles to the Government of Australia along with providing technical assistance and program support. The proposed sale was positioned to support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives, along with assisting one the U.S. government’s most important allies in the Western Pacific region.

When it comes to close combat threats, Javelin is an essential weapon, proving that day or night it’s critical to operational success in the field. Its versatility, lethality and portability continue to make this anti-tank precision weapon system capable of defeating a wide variety of threats.