The US “evaporated” 1/3 of the Javelin anti-tank missile complex because of Ukraine

April 19, 2022 13:15 GMT+7

Accordingly, this publication is concerned about the US supplying many Javelin anti-tank missile systems to Ukraine. It is known that currently the Ukrainian Armed Forces have received 7,000 Javelin anti-tank systems from the US.

According to Business Insider, this is the most sophisticated, powerful and expensive weapon among the multi-purpose anti-tank weapons that NATO and other countries provide to Ukraine.

Although the US does not publish data about its Javelins warehouse, the author of the article has made simple calculations based on the documents of the country’s military. Pentagon records show that the US has produced a total of 37,739 Javelin missiles since 1994. Each year, the military uses a certain number of missiles for training and testing, so between 20,000 and 25,000 Javelin missiles may still be in stock.

Javelin anti-tank missiles have contributed significantly to stopping the Russian advance in northern Ukraine. (Photo: AP)

Thus, about 7,000 Javelin missiles have been sent to Kiev, equivalent to about a third of the number of missiles of the type that the US has.

“That percentage doesn’t seem like much. Although, there are 2/3 of the remaining missiles. However, the military is probably starting to worry. For American military planners, this is not a safe number considering the military and security doctrines that require Washington to always have a large stockpile of weapons because of many possible global conflicts. out,” said Business Insider.

Therefore, to meet this requirement, it is necessary to produce as many new anti-tank systems and ammunition as possible. But the maximum US production level is 6,480 missiles per year. Moreover, to achieve such speed will also take time – a year or more, along with delivery time after placing an order is 32 months. This means it will take about 3 or 4 years to replenish the supply.

The problem is that the production line only seems to be supported by a small amount of overseas sales, so it could take more than 24 months to ramp up production, according to Business Insider.

Javelin anti-tank missile system is the most modern man-portable anti-tank missile system today, Javelin uses infrared imaging system to detect and lock tank targets. Currently, various versions of this complex are in service with more than 20 countries, including the former Soviet republics (Georgia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia).

Javelin is a missile complex operating on the principle of “fire and forget”. Once launched, the “brain” of the missile will take control to guide the target. The gunner operating the Javelin can launch the missile and then retrieve it, or switch to a different target instead.

However, the big disadvantage of Javelin is that it requires the gunner to stand still and not move, constantly keeping the lens focused on tracking enemy tanks until they fire. This is really difficult due to the effects of noise and stress in combat, as well as enemy fire that can make it easy for the gunner to lose the locked target.

Peace (translation summary)