The Javelin Joint Venture team, a partnership of Raytheon Missiles & Defense, and Lockheed Martin, has completed the first production Javelin F-Model (FGM-148F) missile.
While the Javelin has been around since the late 1990s, the new F-Model has an advanced, multipurpose warhead that can defeat different kinds of armor, including explosive reactive armor.
The new missile also adds a fragmenting steel case to take out soft targets and light armored vehicles.
The completion of the first production missile comes after the joint venture was awarded a production contract for 2,100 F-Model (FGM-148F) missiles in January 2019. The contract launched the initial full-rate production agreement following a system qualification test program that included 21 flight tests.
“The F-Model combines multiple features such as blast fragmentation and high-explosive anti-tank into a single warhead,” said David Pantano, Javelin Joint Venture vice president and Lockheed Martin Javelin program director. “We’re helping prepare our warfighters for any mission by reducing the need for different rounds for different targets.”
Javelin has been used extensively in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. US and coalition forces have used the Javelin in more than 5,000 engagements since its deployment in 1996.
With orders for more than 45,000 Javelin missiles, the system is expected to be in the US military’s operational inventory through 2050.
