• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

1st Armored Division fields new 'Fire and Forget' anti-tank weapon

USAEUR Release

01/03/2003

Story and photo by Sgt. Gregory Withrow 1st Armored Division Public Affairs Office

GRAFENWOEHR TRAINING AREA, Germany - As clouds of steaming breath formed on a sub-freezing morning here, Pvt. Brian Tarr peered through the sight of his Javelin anti-armor missile system. Locking in on his target, Tarr pulled the trigger and released the fury of the "fire-and-forget" tank killer, becoming the first soldier in 1st Armored Division to unleash the newest addition to the division's arsenal.

Tarr, an infantryman assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, was elated by the chance to fire the Javelin and see the missile slam into the tank target hundreds of meters away. Despite being brand-new to the Army, and firing in front of a crowd of American and German onlookers, Tarr shook off a case of nervousness and hit his mark.

"It was really great to fire the Javelin. I was really excited and nervous with all the officers around, but I rose to the occasion and succeeded," said Tarr with a grin. As the morning wore on, more division soldiers stepped up to take their shots at various armored targets that litter Range 201 here.

Sgt. Ryan Darby, a combat engineer assigned to the 16th Engineer Battalion, launched his Javelin and smiled when the missile impacted the tank target in a fiery bloom.

"It was great to see it hit the target," said Darby.

Time after time, the Javelin hit the bull's-eye, exploding in a cloud of fire and smoke. Nine missiles were fired, and each shot was dead on target.

Staff Sgt. Gregory Polk, master gunner for 1AD's 2nd Brigade, coordinated the day's firing and had a chance to fire the Javelin.

"I feel very confident that we can deploy the Javelin and use it to destroy targets on the modern-day battlefield," said Polk.

The Javelin system consists of a single-use missile tube and a reusable Command Launch Unit. The system can be ready to fire in 30 seconds and reloaded in 20 seconds.

The system has two primary advantages, said Polk.

As a "fire-and-forget" weapon, the Javelin does not require any post-launch tracking to strike its target, allowing the firer to seek cover or move to another position as soon as a missile is launched.

The other advantage is the Javelin's "soft-launch" capability. The Javelin ejects its missile several meters from the launch tube before the rocket fires with minimal back blast. This allows it to be fired from virtually any type of covered position.

The Javelin can be fired in two attack modes: a "top-down" attack or a dead-on strike. As most tanks are lightly armored on top, the Javelin in top-down attack mode makes a great tank killer, Polk said.