The concept of anti-tank missiles with the ability to control arose in the 1940s. A feature of such systems is the presence of a control panel through which the user can give commands to a launched rocket. In the first generations, such interaction was provided through wires leading directly to the warhead. Today, the principle of using anti-tank systems has changed and become more perfect, as evidenced by the appearance of the third generation of the Javelin system. The weapons of American developers include the use of homing missiles. The user only needs to launch in the direction of the target.
Purpose of the complex "Javelin"
The system is intended for use by infantrymen, scouts, as well as combat engineering units. Maintenance of an anti-tank complex is within the power of one person, although in practice 2-3 soldiers use it. An operator armed with a Javelin missile has the opportunity to attack tank units and other armored vehicles. In addition, a high level of destruction also allows you to inflict significant damage to structures, and if the flight is low, a helicopter attack is possible. Thanks to the soft start, fire can be fired directly from bunkers and other enclosed spaces. The conditions for use do not limit the operator - in particular, the Javelin anti-tank missile system is effective even with limited visibility and at night. Weapons can be transported by rail and road, paratroopers, by water and by air.
Javelin system design
The anti-tank weapon complex includes a multiple-launch command-and-launch device with an integrated self-monitoring sensor, as well as a modular missile, which is located in a special transport-launch container.
The launch vehicle is a platform for launching and transferring the Javelin missile. Weapons require special conditions for maintaining performance, so the developers have provided a whole compartment for this purpose. By design, the container is a one-piece block made of carbon fiber. It protects the rocket from external physical and chemical influences prior to its use. The remaining elements of the complex are located on the outside of the transport and launch block.
The composition of the launcher
This block contains the basic mechanisms that ensure the operation of the complex. It includes the following elements: body, sights (night and day vision), a container for batteries, an eyepiece, interface and control connectors. The block is fixed directly to the launch vehicle. The case itself also houses electronics and a display.
For ease of handling the complex provides handles located on opposite sides of the housing. On these handles are located controls through which practically all manipulations with the Javelin block are carried out. Weapons, in addition, provide for different approaches to energy supply. In particular, both battery packs and batteries can be used.
Infrastructure for rocket service
As already noted, the missile is in the transport-launch block before launch. Among the components serving it, it is worth highlighting a sealed cylindrical container, as well as cooling and power supply systems, which include a battery section and a refrigerant compartment. Immediately before activating the trigger, the refrigerant cools the rocket to the optimum temperature. It is noteworthy that the weapon of the future - the Javelin missile launcher - is equipped with cooling and power systems that are designed for single use and last no more than four minutes. After the start-up, the complex discards the transport-launch block together with devices for cooling and power supply. The rocket itself can be stored for up to 10 years. The main requirement in its maintenance instructions is to carry out a systematic inventory check.
Rocket device
The composition of the Javelin missile complex includes a shell, wings, a safety block and a warhead. The latter can be represented as a combination of two parts - the leading and the main charge. This ensures a double defeat. The leading warhead is designed to remove the barrier in the form of a layer of armor, and the main, in turn, destroys the target.
In addition, the Javelin anti-tank missile is equipped with a propulsion system, including launch and marching drives. One of them is responsible for launching the rocket, giving it its initial acceleration, and the second continues to support the flight until the goal is reached. The main engine is activated when the warhead is removed to a safe distance for the user, since its operation is accompanied by emissions of hot gas.
Shooting modes
Firing can be carried out in two modes - in a straight line or from above. By default, the complex is focused on an attack from above. With this firing mode, the operator gets the opportunity to hit the target from different sides, which increases the attacking ability of the Javelin rocket. The weapon is most effective in defeating armored vehicles from above, but if the equipment is located under a canopy, the activation of the warhead will occur at the moment of contact with a protective shelter. In such cases, a direct attack mode is preferable.
This firing format is possible only after cooling the rocket. Direct fire implies a corresponding rocket flight path. Its detonation occurs directly on the programmed projection of the target, while the range of the shot is at least 65 m.
It is important to note that in both modes there is software support for target capture and further missile control in accordance with these data. In many ways, this feature allows us to call the third generation of the complex as a javelin smart weapon, which relieves the operator of unnecessary work and reduces the likelihood of a tip-off error.
Sighting optics
The rocket launcher is equipped with a multifunctional sight, with which visibility is provided regardless of the daily time. That is, the device can also be used to monitor the situation on the battlefield. Daytime optics provides the possibility of a fourfold increase, and to ensure night visibility, an infrared sight is used. In addition, the complex is equipped with a matrix receiver of infrared radiation, which is even more effective when observing at night and under adverse conditions.
Analogs "Javelina"
The American anti-tank complex is perhaps the best model in its segment and a promising weapon of the future. The Javelin rocket had analogues since the development of the first generations, but they were all inferior in a number of indicators. In particular, anti-tank manual systems are in service with France (the Milan and Erica systems), Sweden (the Bill complex) and in other countries. However, a common drawback of Javelin's competitors is its low firing range.
In Ukraine, the “Stugna-P” system, the development of which was completed in 2010, is considered as comparable in capabilities of the weapon. In the basic version, the complex also includes a trigger mechanism, which is placed on a tripod, and a missile unit. However, the control principles are not so perfect yet - the operator guides through the remote control.
In Russia, the closest analogue to the Javelin grenade launcher system is the Metis complex. Its second generation and the Metis-M modification cannot yet be fully compared with the capabilities of the NATO potential, but the third generation has quite serious prospects. Such a conclusion can be made based on the features of the current generation of the complex. Metis combines the technology of a manual anti-tank system with guidance and the principles of thermobaric explosion. That is, in the case of a domestic analogue, the stake is placed not only on the ability to control the rocket, but also on the strength of the defeat.