FGM-148 "Javelin"
The numbers of tanks killed by Ukrainian soldiers, with the Javelin or other anti-tank weapons, are difficult to take seriously. Mostly appearing on social media, these numbers are likely to be exaggerated by the Ukrainians and downplayed by the Russians. The usual fog of war makes it even more difficult to ascertain accurate numbers. After the start of deliveries, which took place in March-April 2022, a whole cult of these weapons arose in Ukraine: children began to be named after anti-tank systems, “icons” in honor of “Saint Javelina” were painted on the walls of houses. FGM-148 was presented as a superweapon, a panacea and the main destroyer of Russian tanks.
The Javelin and NLAW anti-tank missile systems, which Kyiv began receiving even before the start of the SVO, were presented as an effective means of countering tank units. “If used correctly—and the Javelin is very easy to use—this could mean the destruction of dozens of armored vehicles […] and lead to a series of humiliating and demoralizing defeats for Russian troops,” Popular Mechanics opined . “One of the best, most effective weapons in our arsenal is the Javelin missile,” US President Joe Biden said during a meeting with employees of the Lockheed Martin plant that produces the missiles. In Ukraine, children were named after American ammunition and murals were painted.on the walls of houses.
In practice, the Armed Forces of Ukraine turned out to be insufficiently trained to use these “very simple” ATGMs; they independently translated instructions for them, and the complexes lacked batteries and cooling systems. “There were misfires, usually one out of four fired, and then there were non-explosions, or even [the shells] exploded 50 meters away, not reaching the target,” the Russian Ministry of Defense cited the opinion of a Ukrainian prisoner of war about the use of NLAW and Javelin.
The US-made Javelin missiles became an indispensable weapon in Ukraine's arsenal - for the military as well as public morale. For many Christians, Mary Magdalene is an icon of redemption; the embodiment of the mantra that no matter how far you fall, there is always hope for a second chance. For the people of Ukraine, a reimagined image of her bearing a particular weapon became a potent symbol of resistance.
Javelin has an extremely powerful warhead, and this ensures the guaranteed destruction of any Russian tank in top attack mode. Judging by some information from the front (which, of course, was limited), the Javelin was the least effective ATGM in theearly months of this war. There were said to be very few credible cases of damage to Russian tanks by the operators of these complexes.
This may have been due to several factors. The Javelin complexes supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not have very modern surveillance devices. The guidance module weighs 7 kg in the Block 0 version. The field of view is only 6.11° x 4.58° at constant 4x magnification, and the narrow field of view is 2° x 1.5° at constant magnification. The time of operation of the sighting device from the decision to open fire to the firing of the rocket in the "fire and forget" mode is only 40 seconds, which requires a fairly high qualification of the shooter.
Another, even more serious problem is the reliability of targeting for the homing head. Here it should be remembered that, despite the "shoot and forget" principle, the missile guidance head has several times less capabilities than the aiming device. Therefore, the guidance of Javelin missiles of the Block 0 series (as well as Block 1) can "break off" from the target during the flight of the missiles. If there is an object with a temperature and surface similar to the target near the target (up to approximately 100 m) during launch, then the projectile can change the attack target during the flight.
In a report from 03 March 2022, however, a U.S. Special Operations official monitoring the conflict told Connecting Vets that he had seen estimates of 280 Russian armored vehicles taken out by the Javelin, out of a total of 300 missiles fired.
The Javelin is a shoulder-launched missile system with a capability of destroying both enemy armor and slow flying aircraft. Its command launch unit can also be used as a thermal surveillance system. FGM-148 "Javelin" is manufactured by the American companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
Two ATGMs may be useful in the role of providing indirect fires to current armored vehicles: the US Hellfire missile and the United Kingdom’s Brimstone missile, the British version of the Hellfire. With a range of more than 40 kilometers, Brimstone II missiles have a much longer range than Hellfire missiles. They also possess both millimeter-wave radar guidance and laser guidance. One drawback to the use of Hellfire or Brimstone missiles will be a limited number of shots before a crew needs to reload the missile launchers with the very heavy (roughly 100 pounds) missiles.
During the Cold War, the Pentagon understood that the most likely offensive of the USSR would take place in Europe and would involve the massive use of armored vehicles. Therefore, a weapon that was as easy to use as possible was needed, which would destroy targets at medium visual range in Europe, ignore all means of countermeasures, and protect the operator from return fire. That is why the range of the Javelin shot is 2.5 km, which is the average value of line of sight in Europe. The rocket has a "soft launch" so as not to injure the operator who fires from the shoulder. And the attack of the tank goes from above, into the tower, because this is the most vulnerable zone of the machine with the thinnest armor.
The first serial ATGM of the third generation, which is characterized by the "fire-and-forget" principle - the missile has a thermal homing head, so the operator of the missile complex does not have to follow and adjust the flight of the missile after launch, while it approaches the target. The operator can also choose one of two missile attack modes: an attack from above, to hit armored vehicles on a less protected roof, or a direct attack. "Javelin" is intended for the attack of armored vehicles, fortifications on the ground, as well as some flying objects moving at low altitude and low speed helicopters or UAVs. The Javelin complex missile has an infrared homing head (IR homing system), thanks to which the anti-tank complex belongs to the third generation — it implements the "fire-and-forget" principle, where after launch the missile independently corrects its flight trajectory.
The rocket is equipped with wings that unfold according to the classic aerodynamic scheme. At the choice of the operator, the missile is capable of hitting targets both in the frontal part and from top to bottom, where the missile first gains altitude before the attack. In combination with a powerful tandem-cumulative warhead, these characteristics allow the missile to hit all modern tanks. ATGM has a "soft start" system, which allows firing from closed premises.
The FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile system is actually already well known to Ukrainian fighters. the Obama administration refused to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons to fight Russian-backed separatists in 2014, though it offered a range of other military and security aid. The concern was that providing lethal weapons like Javelin anti-tank missiles might provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin to escalate the conflict.
By mid-2017, Washington was debating whether to supply lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, a move that would mark a turning point in U.S. policy on Kyiv's 3-year-old conflict with Russian-backed separatists. Opponents of the move worried that supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine could escalate the conflict and provoke retaliation from the Kremlin, which had already denounced the possibility.
Supporters of the move, which was under active consideration by President Donald Trump's administration, argued that it was long overdue. The policy of supplying only non-lethal military gear had neither deterred Russian aggression nor created an opening for cooperation with Moscow to resolve the conflict, they argue. Kurt Volker, the Trump administration's special envoy to Ukraine, rejected the argument that lethal arms sales would provoke Russia during a 25 July 2017 interview with Current Time, a Russian-language network jointly operated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and VOA. "I hear these arguments that it's somehow provocative to Russia or that it's going to embolden Ukraine to attack," he said. "These are just flat out wrong. First off, Russia is already in Ukraine, they are already heavily armed. There are more Russian tanks in there than in Western Europe combined. It is a large, large military presence. And, there's an even larger military presence surrounding Ukraine from Russian territory."
The United States will provide Ukraine with “enhanced defensive capabilities,” the State Department said 22 December 2017, as Kyiv battled Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country. “U.S. assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself,” the department said in a statement. ABC News reported that President Donald Trump was expected to approve the sale of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, citing State Department sources. Any sale would need congressional approval.
The export license covered such weapons as semiautomatic and automatic firearms. It included combat shotguns, silencers, military scopes, flash suppressors and parts. Administration officials said the equipment approved for sale was valued at $41.5 million. The Washington Post reported that there had been no approval for requests by Ukraine for heavier weapons, like Javelin anti-tank missiles.
The Trump administration in December 2017 agreed to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, later committing to sell $47 million in Javelins. On March 1, 2018, the U.S. Department of State approved the sale of 210 Javelin missiles and 37 launchers totaling about US$47 million, which were delivered to Ukraine in April 2018.
President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko visited the military training area in 2018 and checked the readiness of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the US anti-tank missile complexes “Javelin”. “Finally this day has come! Today, on May 22, for the first time in Ukraine, the trial of Javelin anti-tank complexes of the third generation took place. I am convinced that today, combat capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, missile troops and artillery have grown significantly,” said Ukrainian President.
The first batches of Javelin entered the Ukrainian army in 2018. On May 22, 2018, the Javelin complexes were tested for the first time at the Armed Forces training ground. The US State Department provided the sale of anti-tank Javelin missiles to Ukraine in spring 2018 and declared that “the Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements. On 01 March 2018 the US State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Ukraine of Javelin Missiles and Javelin Command Launch Units (CLUs) for an estimated cost of $47 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale.
The Government of Ukraine requested to buy two hundred ten (210) Javelin Missiles and thirty-seven (37) Javelin Command Launch Units (CLUs) (includes two (2) Javelin CLUs to be used as spares). Also included are Basic Skill Trainers (BST); United States Government and contractor technical assistance, transportation, training and other related elements of logistics and program support. The Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements. Ukraine will have no difficulty absorbing this system into its armed forces. The American military estimated that three battalions of the Armed Forces equipped with Javelins would be enough to cover only about 11 km of the front line, while Ukraine's border with Russia is 2,200 km long.
But in 2019, Trump moved to block the delivery of lethal aid to Ukraine as part of an effort to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation connected to Biden’s son. Zelensky made no such announcement, and the hold-up triggered the first impeachment of Trump.
In February 2019, Ukraine's Defense Ministry signed a contract for delivery of the second batch of the U.S. Javelin anti-tank missile systems (ATMS). Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Oleksiy Martsenyuk has said the ministry is building concrete depots for safer storage of munitions and avoiding emergency situations. In an interview with RFE/RL's Ukrainian service, the defense official said the ministry "learned the lessons of the past," therefore the security system is being improved, with the introduction of centralized monitoring of all military depots.
Martsenyuk added that the security perimeter of ammunition depots would have 24/7 video surveillance with towers, guards, and patrols. "We also pin great hope on our unified monitoring center, from where we can conduct round-the-clock centralized monitoring of all facilities. Now the centralized monitoring system has already been launched in test mode for part of ammunition depots," he added.
In mid-July 2019 the White House directed a freeze on nearly $391 million in aid to Ukraine, which included $250 million of military aid that had been announced by the Defense Department in June for training, equipment, and advisory efforts for Kyiv's armed forces. In a 25 July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump asked Zelenskiy to open a corruption probe into Trump’s political rival, former US Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who was on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. Trump alleged that as U.S. vice president, Joe Biden pressured Ukrainian prosecutors to halt an earlier investigation into the gas company. Zelenskiy told Trump during the July 25 phone call his country was “ready to buy more Javelins," according to a White House memorandum of the phone conversation.
In a flurry of activities surrounding the call, Trump and his advisors pressured Zelenskiy to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter, and withheld U.S. aid to Ukraine as leverage. U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and former U.S. envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker drafted a statement in August committing that country to open an investigation involving Biden. Another U.S. diplomat, Bill Taylor, said he believed “It’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”
As part of US military assistance since 2018, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have received several dozen launchers of the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile system and hundreds of guided missiles of various versions. On October 3, 2019 the US State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Ukraine for one hundred fifty (150) Javelin missiles and related equipment and support for an estimated cost not to exceed $39.2 million. The Government of Ukraine has requested to buy one hundred fifty (150) Javelin missiles and ten (10) Javelin Command Launch Units (CLUs). Also included are training devices, transportation, support equipment, technical data and publications, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government, engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support tools and test equipment; support equipment; publications and technical documentation; spare and repair parts; equipment training and training devices; U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistical, sustainment, and program support. The total estimated cost is not to exceed $39.2 million.
This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of Ukraine. The Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements. Ukraine will have no difficulty absorbing this system into its armed forces.
The U.S. Department of Defense signed a contract 29 February 2020 for the production of Javelin anti-tank missile systems for a number of countries, including Ukraine. "Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin JV, Tucson, Arizona, was awarded an US$18,431,215 modification (P00022) to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0059. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of June 25, 2020," reads a statement on the website of the U.S. Department of Defense. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army, and foreign military sales (Australia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, Ukraine and United Arab Emirates) funds in the amount of US$18,431,215 were obligated..."
On the eve of Russia's large-scale invasion, Ukraine's allies significantly intensified the supply of these complexes. Total U.S. Security Assistance committed in the first year since Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022 included 8,500+ Javelin Missiles. Following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the United States embarked on a long-term commitment to provide Ukraine with the tools and equipment it needs to defend its sovereignty. Some of the assistance provided has been new and purchased on contract from defense industry manufacturers as a part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. But much of the equipment, some $12.5 billion worth, has been provided as part of presidential drawdown authority.
An additional $100 million in presidential drawdown to support Ukraine was approved 06 April 2022. Part of that will be used to provide additional Javelin anti-armor systems to Ukrainian forces, said Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby. "This $100 million is designed to help us meet an urgent Ukrainian need for additional Javelin anti-armor systems, which the United States has been providing to Ukraine," Kirby said during a press briefing at the Pentagon today. "They've been used very effectively to combat the Russian attack on the Ukrainian homeland."
Kirby said that the total number of Javelin systems being sent to Ukraine doesn't necessarily match a specific type of target, such as Russian tanks, for instance. Instead, he said, the Javelin, while designed for anti-armor use, is fairly versatile.
"[The Javelin] can be used on other vehicles as well and even fixed targets if need be," Kirby said. "And there have been thousands of Javelins that we have provided to Ukraine and we know they're using them. You can see the evidence for yourself when you look at the videos and the images on TV of these burnt-out tanks and burnt-out trucks and armored personnel carriers."
The Army awarded a production contract for $311 million on 13 September 2022 to the Javelin Joint Venture (JJV) between Raytheon Missiles and Defense and Lockheed Martin for delivery of more than 1,800 Javelins that will serve as replenishment for those rounds from DoD stocks sent to Ukraine in support of their military and security forces. To date, the Javelin Joint Venture had produced more than 50,000 Javelin missiles and more than 12,000 reusable Command Launch Units. Javelin is expected to remain in the U.S. weapon arsenal until 2050 and is subject to continual upgrades to support evolving operational needs.
"This award is a great example of our continued commitment to strengthening our domestic industrial base while supporting our allies and partners,” Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William A. LaPlante said. “As we use various authorities to replenish our own stocks, industry can expect a strong, persistent demand signal.”
This procurement is part of the Ukraine Supplemental appropriation. The contract includes Army Ukraine replenishment, Army FY22 procurement, and international partner missiles. “This award demonstrates the Army’s ability to use the new authorities given to us by Congress to acquire critical capabilities for our Soldiers, allies, and partners rapidly and responsibly,” said Douglas R. Bush, the Army's assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology.
Over the first year, the United States and allies and partners provided critical security assistance that made a real difference on the battlefield, and helped the people of Ukraine defend their country from Russian attacks and advances. At the start of the war, the anti-armor and anti-air systems we provided—like the 8,000 Javelin and 1,600 Stingers—enabled Ukraine to win the Battle for Kyiv.
Javelin and NLAW operator Alexander from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade destroyed six Russian armored vehicles during the day. This was reported 30 April 2022 on Facebook by the 128th Separate Transcarpathian Mountain Assault Brigade.
"In February, I completed the operator's course on the NLAW anti-tank missile and received a certificate. And two days before the full-scale war, I also began training on the Javelin. In total, since the beginning of the war, I have used the Javelin nine times. Eight times the target was destroyed, once damaged. These are three tanks, 5 armored personnel carriers and one MT-LB (multipurpose light armored tractor). I destroyed six of these targets in one day - March 3," the soldier said.
The military says that imported anti-tank missiles are convenient and easy to use. "From unpacking the Javelin to the first shot, a maximum of one and a half minutes passes, because the cooler has to work. And after the first and subsequent shots, you simply remove the launcher, throw away the tube (it is disposable) and fit the launcher to another. It takes a maximum of 30 seconds," he notes .
"Without Western anti-tank weapons, it would be very difficult for us to restrain the enemy. After all, the Russians have a lot of equipment, and at the beginning of the war they did not spare it - neither tanks, nor people. But now it is completely different. The enemy knows that we have Javelin and NLAW , is afraid of them like fire, and this fear restrains him, demoralizes him," the soldier added.
Soldiers of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade are advised from their own experience to use NLAW and Javelin anti-tank systems in pairs. This was reported on the Facebook page of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade.
"It is often asked which ATGM is better - NLAW or Javelin. I will say from experience that it is best to use them in pairs. NLAW is excellent at short distances - from 20 to 600 meters, so it is indispensable for combat operations in urban areas (cities and villages). And Javelin is the best from 1 to 2.5 kilometers, i.e. in open terrain," Anatoliy, the operator of the anti-missile complex of the 128th brigade, shared his experience.
According to him, both ATGMs are very effective in terms of damage. "If they are aimed correctly at the target, they will 100 percent hit it and destroy it. There is no way that the missile will not penetrate the armor or something else. And all these grills ("grills") welded on Russian tanks, BMPs or armored personnel carriers help , like incense to the dead," says Anatoliy.
And the Russians have already mastered it well, noted a Ukrainian military officer, and where our NLAW and Javelin are working, they practically do not deploy their equipment: "They know that if we fire, the missile will definitely destroy the target, and the entire crew and landing party will die in a second. They are afraid, in a word".
The Ukrainian military uses NLAW and Javelin only against heavy armored vehicles. Trucks and other lighter targets are fired from Ukrainian Korsar ATGMs. By the way, they are also effective against tanks, they have proven themselves very well.
"Recently, our mobile anti-tank group destroyed two Russian armored personnel carriers from the Corsair and forced a BRDM (combat reconnaissance and surveillance vehicle) to leave the caponira (a special earth fortification). The operator hit the BRDM from the Corsair with a ricochet, it caught fire and left the shelter. after which our tank was destroyed by direct fire in 10 seconds," said Anatoliy, who mastered the management of foreign anti-tank systems in two days during pre-war training.
Of course, each weapon has its pros and cons. And the main one in Javelin is the price. The use of a thermal imaging head made it one of the most expensive ATGMs in the world. The cost of the modern version of the rocket is estimated at more than 200,000 dollars, and the launch costs about the same. For understanding, this is 10 times more expensive than the cost of Ukrainian anti-tank systems.
But now in the conditions of war for Ukraine, of course, this is of minimal importance. And objectively, this is really the only drawback of this ATGM. Although it is possible to meet theses, usually from Russian "military experts", that ?Javelin has a number of additional disadvantages.
In particular, they say, 2.5 km is a short range, because Russian tanks can fire at 5 km. But we should immediately mention the average direct visibility in Europe and the fact that a Russian tank can only fire an extremely expensive guided missile at 5 km. Moreover, seeing the ATGM calculation from a tank at a distance of even 1 km is an unrealistic task.
Another Russian thesis about the "disadvantage" of the Javelin is that it is a "slow" missile that flies to a maximum range of about 13 seconds. And that is why Russian active defense complexes can easily destroy it. But the fact is that not a single serial Russian tank has a complex of active protection. Instead, Russian tankers welded "barbecues" to the turrets of the machines, which, as it turned out, have close to zero efficiency.
In June 2022, The Washington Post analyst Alex Horton published an article in which he questioned the ability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to effectively use these weapons. After receiving the cargo, the Ukrainian military dropped expensive electronics and missiles, stored the FGM-148 in damp rooms, shook the containers and broke the optics of the sighting containers (CLU), which excluded not only the immediate combat use of the Javelin, but also its inclusion as such.
On 10 August 2022, Russian state media published reports claiming that the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon had admitted its Javelin anti-tank missiles were ineffective in the Ukraine war. Stories appeared in Vzglyad, UF.ru, AIF, Tsargrad, Evening Moscow, Business Gazeta, and others trended on Yandex.ru. The vast majority of missiles, according to Russia Today sources, arrived in Ukraine with dead batteries. Batteries are built into the case and are necessary to turn on the anti-tank systems, the operation of the guidance unit and the cooling system of the homing head. The Ukrainian military, in most cases, left the missiles lying in a fully functional, but unsuitable form for firing - discharged. In addition, there were no training modules included with the supply of American missiles. The soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had to learn on combat missiles.
The complexity of use and the fragility of the systems were key reasons why the FGM-148 was not widely used in combat. Instead of American missiles, the Armed Forces of Ukraine preferred to use Soviet RPG-7 on an ongoing basis, the shots for which were brought from several European countries, including the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
According to Russian military expert Doctor of Military Sciences Konstantin Sivkov, the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not figure out how to use the Javelin. “This is a complex complex. It is only effective under certain circumstances, and a series of procedures must be followed to use it in combat. A qualified and trained army can engage in its use, and not the same as the Ukrainian one. At the same time, unlike the Soviet anti-tank systems, the missile warhead of this complex has a relatively weak penetrating ability. In fact, a rocket is only effective when firing from above, and hitting tanks in this way is not always possible,” the specialist said in a conversation with RT.
RT claimed to have obtained internal Raytheon documents, and embedded in the piece three infographics, one marked with the “Raytheon Missile Systems” logo, that compare the technical characteristics of similar weapons systems, and argue they prove that Javelins are inferior. “Those documents were not created by our company, and the efficacy of the Javelin speaks for itself,” Mike Nachshen, senior director of international communications at Raytheon, told Polygraph.info when asked about the RT report.
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