Dedicated drone munitions could unlock modular mission potential
Top attacks have proven effective against heavily armoured vehicles in Ukraine. A new family of uncrewed aerial system-delivered munitions is looking to press that advantage further.
More FMS users sign up for Javelin
Norway is receiving more Javelin ATGMs from the US (pictured in a June 2020 firing exercise in Iraq are soldiers from the Telemark Battalion). (Photo: US Army/Spc Derek Mustard)
Four FMS customers will receive the Javelin ATGM under the latest contract modification from the US Army
The Raytheon/Lockheed Martin JV manufacturing the Javelin ATGM is to supply the anti-tank missiles for four FMS customers, the DoD revealed on 12 May.
Recipients will include Albania, Latvia, Norway and Thailand.
Work on the $71.41 million contract modification from the US Army will be carried out in Tucson, Arizona, for completion by 28 February 2025.
Norway already operates Javelin but requested 122 more missiles via the FMS programme in March 2021.
The sale of 300 Javelins to Thailand was approved in August 2021.
The FGM-148 Javelin system fires a self-guided round and allows for rapid reloading. With a range of up to 4,000m, the ATGM incorporates a low-signature missile launch and fly out capability. Apart from the US military, Javelin is in service with 19 allied countries.
Ukraine has received about one-third of the US Javelin stockpile, Republican senator Roy Blunt said on 3 May amid concerns of US stocks being sharply eroded and difficult to replace.
Javelins are assembled by Lockheed Martin at a facility in Alabama. CEO Jim Taiclet said in a CBS interview on 8 May that the company can ramp up production of the ATGM from 2,100 currently to 4,000 per year in future, partly in response to demand from Ukraine.
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