Raytheon, Lockheed enhance Javelin anti-tank missile mobility by reducing size of launcher
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – Missile experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. are upgrading the Javelin anti-tank missile system to enhance the system's mobility by reducing the weight of the missile's launcher.
Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., are asking the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture based in Tucson, Ariz., to modernize the Javelin command launch unit (CLU) for weight reduction under terms of a $10.1 million contract announced Friday.
Javelin, made by Raytheon Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., is an infantry fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance to destroy main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other armored combat vehicles.
It uses automatic infrared guidance that enables the user to seek cover immediately after launch. The missile also is effective against buildings and enemy helicopters.
This contract to the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture calls for the contractors to provide management and engineering to establish design requirements and design analysis for an upgraded Javelin launcher.
The Block 1 Javelin missile features an improved rocket motor that will reduce the missile's time of flight; improvements to the missile launcher; software enhancements; and an enhanced performance warhead that increases Javelin's lethality against a wide range of targets.
Raytheon produces the command launch unit, missile guidance electronic unit, and system software at Raytheon Missile Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz. Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, produces the missile seeker and the electronic safe, arm and fire electronic module in Ocala, Fla., and performs missile all-up-round assembly in Troy, Ala.
On this contract the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture will do the work in Tucson, Ariz., and should be finished by September 2019.
For more information contact Raytheon at paste link here, or Lockheed Martin at www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/Javelin.html.
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John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
