THE JAVELIN ANTI-TANK GUIDED MISSILE IS REALLY A GAME-CHANGER
George Hand | May 19, 2023
No one can keep a straight face and ridicule the Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM). If ever a legitimate game-changer existed, the Javelin fills that role to the hilt. I personally fired just a single round of the Javelin, and it would not be at all ludicrous to declare that it is difficult to miss with it.
I fired the weapon when the shipment of the first-ever Javelins arrived at Fort Bragg in 2000. The entire consignment of nine weapons went straight to the Delta Force for testing and trial and error observation. None of the missiles missed their mark.
The Javelin has the distinction of being a Any Known Armor (AKA) weapon. This means that it can defeat any known armor. There are several American anti-armor weapons systems and ammunition that carry the AKA designation besides the Javelin: the AT-4 ATGM, TOW ATGM, 90mm recoilless rifle, the Abrams M-1 Main Battle Tank (MBT), the Hellfire missile, and others.
Above is a photo I personally took of one of the first nine Javelin ATGMs. Note the tail end of the rocket on the far left of the picture. The weapon features a smaller launch engine that pushes it out and away from the gunner, at which point the main engine kicks in and thrusts it out and onto the selected target. Also, note a slight bit of flinch from the observers in the background. A picture is worth one thousand words.
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