The US Army Contracting Command has awarded the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin joint venture a $175.9 million contract for the delivery of Javelin anti-tank guided weapons to Taiwan and Lithuania.
According to a US defense department contract announcement, deliveries of the FGM-148 man-portable missiles are expected to be completed by November 2023.
The contract notice did not specify the amount of missiles that would be delivered, but reports from Taiwan said the country expects to receive 400 Javelin anti-tank missiles by 2022. According to the Liberty Times, the order also includes 42 launch systems.
Javelin is a one-man-portable and platform-employed anti-tank and multi-target precision weapon system. Using “fire-and-forget” technology capable of defeating targets up to 4 kilometers in most operational conditions, the weapon guides itself to the target without external commands, controls or target designation.
Javelin is currently in service in 18 allied countries. The Javelin Joint Venture has produced more than 45,000 rounds for both US and foreign militaries.
In May 2020, the Javelin JV also began production of the Javelin F-Model (FGM-148F) missile. 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.
