The Army Wants to Kill Russian, Chinese and North Korean Tanks from Far Away

Kris Osborn

Security,

And this missile might help them do it. 

Key Point: Here comes the Javelin missile--new and improved. 

(Washington, D.C.) A small group of maneuvering infantry soldiers will soon be able to target and destroy enemy tanks at night from distances up to 4.5 kilometers -- by firing portable, man-carried Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles engineered with a new generation of targeting optics.

The U.S. Army and Raytheon plan to enter production of a new Lightweight Command Launch Unit for the Javelin designed to bring a new level of “precision lethality to an infantry squad.” The new Lightweight CLU unit enables much greater standoff distance for infantry attacking tanks by doubling the attack range from 2.5km to 4.5km, developers said.

“You have to be able to speed up the kill chain, and detect the adversary before he can detect you. You want to get a launch shot off before he knows you are there. It all starts with sensing,” Tommy Boccardi, Javelin Domestic Business Development, Raytheon, told Warrior in October.

Army officials with the Javelin Product Office, Program Executive Office Missiles & Space say the new Lightweight CLU reduces weight by 30-percent and will enter production in 2022.

"Javelin's strategy is to incrementally develop, test, and integrate new technology into the system. Javelin recently completed a development program that included a new warhead, which improves lethality against soft targets," the Javelin Product Office told Warrior in a statement last month.

The Army has had Javelin anti-tank missiles for many years, yet without this targeting range, sensor fidelity and computer enabled “fast lock” for improving attacks on the move.

Of course Army units have a range of methods with which to attack tanks, such as firing tank rounds or using precision airpower. There may be many combat circumstances, however, wherein dismounted infantry are not traveling with larger mechanized armored units or have access to close air support. While the Army is now accelerating technologies aimed at providing Infantry Brigade Combat Teams with more mobile firepower -- with platforms such as its now-in-development Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle -- dismounted infantry regularly operate in high-risk, forward locations detached from larger mechanized units.