US-made Javelin portable anti-tank missile is a shoulder-mounted weapon that is guided by a computer for deadly accuracy and is in service since 1996.
United States President Joe Biden has approved the transfer of USD 100 million worth of Javelin anti-weapon missiles to Ukraine for its military to counter the Russian attack. The transfer brings the total of US military assistance for Ukraine to USD 2.4 billion since Joe Biden took charge in January, 2021.
The United States has been constantly supplying the Ukrainian army with the Javelin anti-tank missile system. Since the Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, the US has supplied 2,600 Javelin missiles to the war-torn country. On March 16, the US announced that it would be supplying 2,000 more missiles as part of an USD 800 million aid package.
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What is Javelin missile and why is it in high demand?
The Javelin missile (FGM-148) is an American-made, portable anti-tank missile system in service since 1996.
Javelin anti-tank missile system is a shoulder-mounted weapon that is guided by a computer for deadly accuracy.
The world's premier shoulder-fired anti-armor system, Javelin missiles (FGM-148) takes the fight to the enemy.
Javelin automatically guides itself to the target after launch, allowing the gunner to take cover and avoid counterfire.
Soldiers or Marines can reposition immediately after firing with Javelin missile or reload to engage another threat.
It is based on infrared guidance technology and has lock-on-target capabilities, which allows the shooter to 'fire-and-forget'.
Shooter does not require to guide it to its target, instead can prepare the next missile as soon as previous one is launched.
Javelin has an arced flight path, called 'top-attack' which enables it to hit tanks and heavily-armored vehicles from above.
It is also used for direct fire to bring down walls, fortifications, targets in close vicinity and low-flying aircrafts.
Javelin warhead is equipped with a dual charge which allows it to damage tanks with advanced explosive reactive armor.
Warhead's first detonation is meant to clear away any ERA, and only then a second, much larger explosion can infiltrate a tank.
Javelin anti-tank missile use highly explosive anti-tank (HEAT) technology and damage the interiors of a tank.
It operates on what is known as a 'soft launch arrangement', whereby the initial launch distances the rocket away from the shooter.
This decreases the danger of injury from backblast, hot gases that are expelled from the rear when the missile is launched.
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