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The first production Javelin F-Model (FGM-148F) missile. Credit: © 2020 Lockheed Martin Corporation.
The Javelin Joint Venture (JJV) team has finished the first production of Javelin F-Model (FGM-148F) anti-tank missile.
The completion follows after Raytheon and Lockheed Martin’s JJV won a contract to produce the upgraded version of the missile in January 2019.
Under the contract, the company is set to manufacture 2,100 F-model missiles.
The FGM-148F missile is equipped with an advanced, multipurpose warhead (MPWH) and will replace the FGM-148E (Block I) weapon.
The F-Model’s MPWH can defeat existing, future and explosive reactive armours.
Additionally, the upgraded version of the missile features a fragmenting steel case to engage targets such as light armoured vehicles.
JJV vice-president and Lockheed Martin Javelin programme director David Pantano said: “The F-Model combines multiple features such as blast fragmentation and high-explosive anti-tank into a single warhead.
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“We’re helping prepare our warfighters for any mission by reducing the need for different rounds for different targets.”
Javelin is a man-portable, fire-and-forget weapon system that has proven its capability in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Since its deployment in 1996, the US and its coalition forces have used the missile in more than 5,000 engagements.
More than 45,000 ordered Javelin missiles are expected to be delivered to the US military operational inventory through 2050.
The missile is designed to support any mission’s evolving requirements.
In February this year, the JJV signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian company Bharat Dynamics (BDL) for exploring co-production of the Javelin anti-tank missile system in the country.
