Why Every Military Needs the Javelin Missile Launcher
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- This is an informative video about the FMG-148 Javelin top attack missile system. I'm your average infantryman Chris Cappy here to examine my top favorite Infrared Guided Anti-Tank Missile and 11th favorite Olympic sport, the Javelin. The FGM-148 Javelin for those of you who don’t know is America’s predominant man portable guided anti-tank weapon. It uses infrared tracking in order to guide itself to the target, making it not only easy to use, but highly effective and accurate against enemy armored threats.
Follow Cappy / cappyarmy
So what kind of DARPA space magic makes this thing work? How is it used on a Modern Battlefield? What are the pros and cons of using it vs. something like an AT4 or Carl Gustav? And why didn’t my squad leader ever let me play with one?
Prototype development began for the Javelin launcher in 1989. But you’re probably thinking, when was the last time the US military faced off against a column of enemy tanks, what have all these soldiers been firing $100K dollar missiles at the sides of mountains? And that's not far from the case.
Written by: Chris Cappy & Justin Taylor
Edited by: Chris Cappy
#JAVELIN #MILITARY #MISSILE
Follow Cappy instagram.com/cappyarmy/
Thanks for watching fellow Spare Parts Army! What do you think of the Javelin Anti Tank missile launcher? Personally , it makes me go hooah.
watch red effects vid on javelin
For Me Nothing replaces the DENEL ZT3 Ingwe from my Heart.
Also I love SPIKE ATGM for Top attacks
@@patriotenfield3276 a real man holds the heat warhead in his hand jumps on the TAnk and slams it down. While on Ambien and dex like a true soldier
@@smokeshow7691 Real men only need some grenades and molotovs to do the Jobs for them. Ask the Suomi .
I never thought I would say thank you for any weaponry made but thank you United States for making these and giving them to us. It allows me and my family to live. I'm Ukrainian. Fighting now for a third day for a chance to live.
I so feel the weight of these words. The world is with you. I just donated to Ukranian military Money and will donate winter clothing to be sent next. Love from Lithuania.
From Australia, the world watches the Ukrainians with respect and admiration.
My heart is with you. May god keep you safe
You are in my prayers I hope that the western world does enough to stop this senselessness and we finally bring you and your fierce country into NATO
Good luck my man. Hope you and your family come out of this unharmed
In 2003, at the “Battle of Debecka Pass” , some US Army Special Forces working with Kurds in northern Iraq, drove off an Iraqi armored column using only Javelin missiles, inflicting significant damage and losses to the Iraqis. My understanding is it was the first time those Special Forces operators had even had their hands on the missile. The missile was a game changer. Light Infantry defeating a heavy armor unit.
Javelins made up for the missing heavy firepower of the 4th ID.
AFAIK, The last time we fired it in anger was against enemy armor....in 2018. Russian Wagner mercs and Syrians at the Battle of Khasham. It's worth noting that Putin _authorised_ that attack against US Marines and green beanies in Syria.
Yes, we've used it against Russians and older Russian armor already. And they weren't happy about it.
T&P is one of the few who ever reported on it. Strange how it was hushed up in general.
Russians fighting Americans in a MAJOR desert engagement. It was no street fight.
@@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing The Russian media mentions very little of this engagement. And when they do, they claim as little as 3 Russian mercs were killed. In reality... A LOT more than 3 were killed! lol It was reported through unconfirmed channels that the survivors said... "WE GOT OUR ASSES KICKED!" Its very hard to verify the stories because the Russians are keeping it quiet. And if they are working that hard to cover the truth... Then YES! THEY GOT THEIR ASSES KICKED! lol To me It's likely that Putin gave that attack the ok. Or if it wasn't him, then somebody below him gave the ok to attack.
@@black10872 If someone else gave the OK to attack, he's since stabbed himself twelve times in the back of the head with an ice pick.
@@black10872 Those mercs belong to Prigozhin, Putin's "chef" and a right hand man. He also owns that enormous troll farm in Olgino, the so-called 'Internet Research Agency' responsible for most of the bot and troll comments all over UA-cam and social media platforms to this day. There were a few journalist reports with sources in intelligence agencies that confirmed Prigozhin went to Putin before sending nearly an entire battalion of armor and troops to assault that US platoon guarding that refinery. But he didn't allow air support to get involved, hence, the mixed Russian and Syrian force got absolutely mangled by a hurricane of American combined arms.
Like you said, at first the Russians said there were only a few advisors killed, then it became apparent they lost mountains of men, had to stack the bodies in containers, and word got out to the Russian populace, who still want revenge.
Not long after, that's when the bounties on US troops thing began. The Russian people took this loss as a hit to their national pride, so it's no surpise did it to give them some revenge. And there goes the Deniability of using Russian Wagner mercs. They're all Russian troops at the end of the day, just with a flimsy cover story. They were part of the Little Green Men alongside the Spetsnaz in the opening phase of the Crimea invasion.
Did you know that each Roman carried around one of these? They would fire them before attacking. After seeing this video, I understand why they conquered such a great empire.
That would not be correct. They carried upgraded version of Javelin. Because it was upgraded version they called it Pillum. It had more effective range than javelin and better armor penetration.
Theirs had thin metal shafts with barbs that bent over in the tanks slowing them down for the phalanx attack.
@@TheInfidel_SlavaUA well... it uses the same batteries MANPAK and SINGARS use. So kind of unlikely
Romans carried Pilum, not Javelins. There were dedicated skirmishers that used Javelins. What's the difference? The enemy could pick up a javelin and throw it back at you. Pilum bent on impact, preventing this. It was considered very high tech for the time and required (for the time) advanced metallurgy to make it strong enough to pierce armor while weak enough to bend afterwards.
@@gunmnky I know it's going to shock you, but here is the definition of a Pilum : "The pilum (Latin: [ˈpiːɫʊ̃]; plural pila) was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times". The Pilum is a javelin. I guess you are the kind of guy that says a soldier isn't carrying a sword because it's in fact a longsword, ignoring the fact that it's just a specific kind of sword.
Even in Arma, it's magnificently effective in both modes. Since the last 5+ years, (in Arma) I wouldn't walk into a known enemy armor zone (unless I was feeling suicidal) without a Javelin team or two available. Beats the crap out of the TOWs we used back in the day IRL.
Well, Javelin was tested rather extensively in the last three days.
This is the most important battle the Javelin has ever been in.
And from what I’ve seen and heard, it’s popped quite a few Russian tanks.
5:18 aged so well edit: bless St. Javelin
@@phased-arraych.9150 just saw a bunch of T 80s with their turrets blown off at this rate Putin migh run out of amor, 200 tanks destroyed in a couple of days and more javelins are enroute
even the russian army is capturing the javelin and using agaisnt Ukrainian armors, NOT troll
I was a Marine 0351 Dragon gunner in the 80s and 90s, and I got out just before the Javelin. :/ Another problem with the Dragon was that its uninsulated wire prevented us from shooting over bodies of water, even marshes! The wire would short circuit and the dragon in flight would go haywire. Javelin--> major improvement!
Yeah man, same with the TOW, you had to be hyper aware of any obstacles down range. I was in my Units anti-armor squad for a while, all we had were M-47's too. We weren't fans of them either.
Are we taking about quite a significant body of water or very little.
How did it perform exactly in the wet in general?
@@studentaviator3756 Not exactly sure.......a small stream or creek wouldn't / shouldn't be an issue, but a river or lake could cause the wires to short out. Fun fact, the wires on the TOW are gold plated, for anti - corrosion.
@Gregg Kemp damn no wander they have tried to go wireless haha.
It's interesting to me that the tow is still in such usage.
Id imagine in a lot of cases Bradley's could be served better with javilans , as their anti tank weaponry.
Hey Marine, how was the Dragon in terms of accuracy on a relatively slow moving, mobile target?
I’m a active 0352 and let me just say nothing has been more rewarding to me than feeling the weight of the missile leave your shoulder and feeling the shockwave after impact. I remember watching it for the first time seeing the missile drop straight down and realizing how beautiful and terrifying it was.
I thought muzzle blast from firing a 50BMG Barrett gave me tingles. Hard to imagine watching and feeling these magnificent tank killers at your command.
This ex soldier really knows his stuff, and imparts his wide knowledge in a easy to comprehend no nonsense manner.
Actually he includes a fair bit of nonsense in rather an enjoyable manner.
The museum I work at has one of the full sized models of the missile tube that was used during the Javelin’s development. It looks exactly like the same as the real thing, and weighs the same. I actually got to hold it and handle the tube and I thought it was a neat piece of history.
While I didn't work on the Javelin's CLU batteries, from a bit of work experience researching batteries for a DoD application, I would think they are non-rechargeable for a few reasons. One, single use batteries are very reliable, there's a trade-off when you make batteries reusable. Following on that point, the DoD doesn't like Lithium Ion batteries, and will avoid them at basically any cost. They have a propensity to burn or explode when dropped, poked, heated up, or just looked at with a mean face, and those things happen frequently in the military, especially when you give them to 19 year olds. Second, Lithium Sulfur and other non-rechargeable batteries have far better energy densities, aka the amount of use time you get per pound you have to carry, about twice as much. Lastly, you wouldn't want to get yourself into a position to fire on a tank just to realize that you didn't charge the battery, or don't have the charged one plugged in. Better to just throw it out when it runs out. When it comes to cost, $150 is actually decently cheap for the military.
While I can see the 1st point as reasonable, I don't know about the last thing you said (at least not it's not that great of a point). You would have to bring a spare for both anyways, it's just that the non-rechargeable ones are a better bang for their weight which is important when you want to reduce that as much as possible.
But what I can argue is that as more electronics are added into ground units, the more valuable having the ability to recharge becomes.
Cheaper than a US Army toilet seat, anyway.
@@midgetman4206 The thing is if you want to be rechargeable and not be a lithium ion battery, the best thing is nickel cadmium. Nickel cadmium has a really bad energy density compared to the lithium sulfur that they use. I'm talking about needing four batteries instead of the one, assuming each weighs the same.
And don't forget that rechargeable batteries leaks/bleeds out like crazy... Even the most expensive one can't hold their juice as long as the cheapest non-rechargeable ones...
Not ideal in environment where you can't easily find a power socket for weeks or even months.
IDK, if people are using the optics for recon, and not just for firing the missile. They will be going through a ton of batteries. Really needs a more sustainable option. If only so they don't run out.
Interesting that you included Ukraine in your video. Based on social media reports, the Javelin seems like it is performing very well.
I hope so. And I hope the western powers don't drag their feet sending them MANY more, as soon as possible.
Well I just saw a pancaked Russian APC, I'd say it's being put to good use 😂
Don't think about the receipt Ukraine!!
Tension between Russia and Ukraine has been a thing for at least the past several decades
Based on social media, video games are real. And based on your picture, your wife sleeps wife black dudes.
I saw the first public launch / shoot / firing of the Javelin back in the 1990s...and KNEW it was a Game Changer. Pretty good range...AND truly Fire & Forget. And the soft-launch reduces the chance yer gonna cook your buddies. The CLU is very useful for surveillance purposes when not attached to the missile!
When you switch to "Seeker" mode, you are looking through the missile. The CLU is only used for target ID, the missile only needs the operator to identify the target by bracketing it. The CLU was an add-on requirement that came from General Foss, the Infantry School Commandant at the time. The CLU was the reason the Javelin could not meet its weight and cost requirements. The thermal signature of each "target" is unique, therefore targeted tanks can not "rub off" targeting on other vehicles. It also makes it the best sniper/anti-sniper weapon on the battlefield and will track its target through a crowd of thousands. Most of the cost in the late 1980s was in newly developed silicon wafers and imagers, your new $500-$1,000 cell phone has exponentially better, faster, more efficient, higher resolution parts at less than 10% of the cost of the same Javelin parts. The original imager in the Javelin was 64 pixels (8x8) and does a great job out to crazy ranges. Now imagine the multi-mega pixel imager in your cell phone in a Javelin and you get an idea of the potential of the design. Then realize the Javelin has been out of production for 20 years and it is still the best anti-armor weapon on the battlefield.
Brutally pragmatic but I bet there are many in the military and weapons manufacturers geeked to see their weapons tested against the modern belligerent they were built to destroy. Lots of data for iterating further.
The Javelin is the reason the US command regarded tanks as largely obsolete in the 2000s and suspected light vehicles and buggys to control the battlefield.
You mean cold war tanks from another century. T-14 is the only tank I know of designed to withstand hits from above. Tho no army in the world has enough money to replace all of their tanks.
@@Paciat I don't think we are in the timeline where the T-14 ever sees battlefield use
@@tehsma I'm not so sure about that, we might see it be deployed by russia in ukraine soon.
@@nightwing268 They're expensive and don't have many. No way in hell would the Russians send them off to Ukraine.
@@gnranger what are they built for then?
"If you send a couple of rifles to Ukraine it might not ruffle any Russian feathers, but if you send them a cargo ship full of Javelins".... this guy knew...
Former British Army Jav Gunner here. I fired no less than £400,000 worth of Javelin in Afghanistan. We relied heavily on these to take out Taliban snipers. They were shit scared of these due to the top attack. We used an upgraded version we bought from the Americans, updated CLU. Devastating accuracy up to 2500m. Javelins against Russian armour will definitely give them a bloody nose, the Javelin will defeat any armour fired top in top attack.
Let’s hope so.
Seems a bit cost ineffective to use it against snipers, but it's helped to prevent unwanted hair cuts. Against all that Juicy armor though >.>
20 years later ran out with tail behind the legs
@@twichy4life1 Not really. Consider these costs.
Cost of evacuating multiple casualties hit by a sniper and paying for a lifetime of benefits and healthcare.
Cost of securing an area so that artillery can operate.
Cost of calling for an air strike, not very effective as it will take hours to get a bomber in the air and on target, the sniper will be long gone.
Etc etc
Having a small, reliable, man portable, long range strike capability means infantry can effectively control a much larger area of land and kill anything from a sniper to a tank without needing expensive support alternatives.
It's a bargain considering the alternatives.
@@disposabull Thanks for replying! Makes more sense.
It looks like the Javelin is performing exceptionally well against Russian tank columns in Ukraine.
When he said the Russians don’t like it when we send Ukrainians javelins I nearly lost it 😂 that’s why I clicked on this video lol
@@orionfoxx1954 Yeah. Ohhhh look. Foreshadowing in real life. Hopefully some information will come out on how well they worked, especially with the upgraded versions.
@@greywar777 hearing reports that ukrainian infantry is destroying whole columns of armor using javelins, and of destroyed tanks showing damage to the top of its armor, indicating top-attack weapons like javelins being used
@@DocC993 The 2000 NLAWs the UK gave the Ukrainians are also taking out Russian tanks with no problems.
Bringing some democracy
As a former US Army infantryman, I would like to take this time to thank the Russian army for volunteering to be live test subjects for the Javelin system. Your help in vetting this missile has been invaluable. We will be sending a $5 Walmart gift card as a thank you to your next of kin.
I know someone is going to get butt hurt by this joke. It's the kind of humor that only a combat veteran can fully appreciate. Everyone else can kick rocks.
Praying to St. Javelin
ANd combine in the cheap RPG anti tank systems that will be deployed as well.
The entirely of the Ukrainian armed forces enjoyed that joke, and would like to extend their subscription indefinitely. Putin- not so much...
Due to the current sanctions, Walmart gift cards are now of limited use in Russia. Vodkas-R-Us gift cards would be appreciated more.
Roger that
Considering how extremely well these are performing I am looking forward to seeing these in large scale production.
Good insightful informative video!
As a Veteran of both the US and Estonian Militaries, I am very glad that the Estonian Defense Forces received the upgraded new Javelin Defensive Weapons system.
Civ here, but got to spend an hour on a 1:1 simulator. It was the coolest thing I've ever done. Good to hear the new CLU has better optics, it struck me as the biggest limiting factor.
The CLU was probably the most useful but underestimated factor. It, and the ITAS optics from our TOW bunny trucks. They were our go-to night and long range surveillance system for both cordon searches and static security during OIF II.
Sure, we have PAS-13's and other whiz-bang FLIR goodies falling off the trees now, but for that period, they were absolutelely invaluable, and of more tactical use than the missiles themselves.
@@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing that's the same sentiment I got from the guys who let me play with their toy too. It's more powerful than other squad/plt optics.
What sim?
@@mrchocolatebean8878 Don't know the name, but it was a real javelin where when you looked into the CLU you would see a sim battlefield. You even had to reload it manually.
@@mrchocolatebean8878 There are simulator versions of javelin launchers for training troops, they exist because firing a real javelin missile is so expensive. The soldier with the best score out of everyone gets to fire a real missile.
As a scout instructor I had the pleasure to instruct and teach the use of this great weapon!!
In high school, 20 years ago, we took a trip to the local armory, where we got to try a bunch of training sim stuff, one of which was for a TOW. They only gave each of us one shot with it, and I missed, but it was pretty cool. The sniper training was on a SNES cartridge, which blew our minds. We had heard that the military used things like Mortal Kombat to desensitize soldiers, but this was an actual training game for snipers that kept track of your breathing and trigger pull.
My unit was an antiarmor Infantry company and we did something like this every year
Quite a step up from the M72 LAW that they had when I was in the Army, back in the 70's.
@Ted Hubert Pagnanawon Crusio Now they are using the CARL recoiless rifle.
I remember being part of Force 21 as an 11B back in the mid 90's at Fort Lewis. I never got to play with the Javelin, but select soldiers got to test them. I didn't really think much about ti at the time, but years later, I realized how much of a game changer these were.
Tech like the Javelins have changed the Armored Vehicle game. Tanks used to take the front line supported by infantry whilst providing said infantry with armor and firepower. With Javelins in play they just hide their tanks now for fear of being taken out which makes their primary role non existent. Weapons like these pretty much evened out the playing field. Something Russia did with its RPG in conflict areas. Now Russian armored vehicles are on the receiving end of an angry person armed with an explody tube that shoots up and hits down. Imagine their surprise with all the investment gone into Russian tanks are suddenly at the mercy of a person with a tuba that spits death.
200 Tanks killed so far and 600 amored vhielces putin is getting wrecked
@@eduwino151 i like this info haha although in the end Russia might still take over, Ukraine needs to make this war costly that even Putin's inner circle would start raising eyebrows. Im really hoping it takes one disgruntled oligarch to put a knife in his back and end this conflict but that's just wishful thinking. The one thing Russia and China did for the past few years is unite the world against them. NATO was floundering as an entity, suddenly Germany is talking fighting words, arming Ukraine and finally commiting to spending 2% of its gdp to its military even neutral countries are now considering membership. Its a wacky world we live in.
@@covenant_mog05
It is not a guarantee for Russia if the region is flooded with anti tank and anti aircraft weapons.
The Russians were trying a surgical shock and awe like the US did in afghanistan and Iraq and have so far failed.
Russia can always go in with the gloves off but the price they will pay for that will be immense.
Cavalry started to become obsolete since the Pike and Shot was perfected. History is repeating itself again.
@@astranix0198 A small team with javelins can stop an entire 50 tank amoured charge in literally minutes
I love the fact that Arma3 provides the best video examples of sighting a Javelin
I would love them to create a Stryker or Bradley variant that has the Javelin in Vertical Launch cells where the squad bay used to be. I figure they could have up to 24 Javelin's in VLS cells and then have two telescopic sights that can be raised 12-15 feet so the vehicle can hide on a reverse slope, behind small buildings, etc undetected and start launching Javelin's at advancing armored units. If you had two telescoping sights the driver and gunner could attack two targets simultaneously. Just two vehicles could stop and entire Russian Tank Battalion in its tracks.
Or you could have it so troops or smaller UAVs could mark targets to launch them somehow. Hide the VLS stryker entirely behind a hill or trees somewhere and have it lobbing missiles at things the drone or infantry is tagging.
Ironically Russians are exactly doing just that but with newer Tiger armored vehicles but with direct line of sight newer Konkurs. They have 2 retractable ATGM pods with 4 missiles each. All 8 can track targets independently.
If you're launching from vertical cells you could use missiles that are way longer with better performance.
Probably not much cheaper as the cost of these missiles are quite fixed, it'll cost about 100 grand to have an advanced sensor in the nose, fold out guidance fins with flight control system and a solid rocket motor whether bigger or smaller.
Use the same idea for loitering munitions. Get to use them as drones and have them kamikaze the enemy when fuel's running low
@Beaverish Buck Teeth Hey, don't diss cowadoody, the US Army couldn't have come up with a better recruitment tool if they tried.
And boy, did they try.
You keep living out videos like this you'll be at a million subs in no time! You know Cappy, if you become a success you can't go back to screwing around. Food for thought...😂👍👍
I'm aiming for 500K first haha baby steps. I plan to screw around as much as humanely possible between now and then haha
@@Taskandpurpose as long as you've got a plan
Some cool facts about javelin. It is said be costing $200,000 and it shoots payload which costs around $40,000. It is deadly effective. The downside of this system is that the tube is only for one time use. Not to mention the weight issue. Personally, I don't want to be in its bad side
What about Spike ATGM?
@@patriotenfield3276 - I don't know much about it. Hee is what I know about it . It is made by an Israeli weapons company. I only knew this because, our army bought some of these. Other than this, not much.
@@sarath431 Indian Army had plans for Javelin too btw.
@@patriotenfield3276 - this I don't know. Thanks for the info
@@sarath431 actually Indian army ditched Javelin in favor of Spike ATGM. they are both similar. maybe cost. or any other.
I feel the Javelin is the perfect partner of the Carl Gustaf system, each compensating for the others weakness.
Which, speaking of, I was expecting this video to finish with a direct comparison to other systems in terms of strengths and weaknesses.
This aged exceptionally well considering Javelin and ATGM usage In Ukraine
How so, the system was originally designed to destroy armor. That job hasn't changed
@@Truthbomb918 this aged, referring to the video and it’s conclusion. Not the weapon system aging.
We are really grateful to the US for sending javelins to Ukraine. Hopefully, we won’t need to try them out in the battlefield. But if we will, we will also compare javelins effectiveness with NLAVs which were also kindly send to Ukraine by the UK.
I think ours are better but I hope you don't have to use any of them.But 2.000 should do some damage if needed.
Remember that no combustion engine likes a Molotov cocktail in it's intake. Thermal imaging sights also dislike them.
I'm glad you have these weapons, and also hope you won't need to use them. Also proud to hear my country (Australia) is assisting with anti-Cyber operations. Fingers crossed we can all make it through this situation with democracy intact. Best wishes to you.
I really hope that just the fact you have them will make the tiny dictator less likely to actually invade.
Good thing those Armatas never went beyond the prototype phase, eh?
If Putin does invade, the world is about to see a ton of footage of just how brutal these things are to armor and the kind of threat they pose on the modern battlefield.
This is definitely a force multiplier when it comes to trained Ukrainian resistance fighters armed with this against Russian tanks.
True. Though the Ukraine government's apparent instructions to citizens to make and use Molotov cocktails in any future urban combat seemed to me to be wishful thinking and akin to asking your citizens to engage in a suicide mission. I hope the Russians negotiate with the Ukrainians so a simple promise to stay out of NATO will call off the invasion, that would be a win-win all around, though it might be wishful thinking.
@@raylopez99 I think it's too late for putin to back out now, at least without seemingly gaining something material for the losses they've taken
@@BrianJT Maybe, but I think a promise by Ukraine/NATO not to join up might be enough (I hope). But it could be Putin is just so insane he's willing to do a Stalin.
7-8 molotovs can disarm an APC
@ Wise man's words!
I was anti tank platoon in the parachute regiment and was trained and fired the javelin. Wicked weapon system. Top attack, fire and forget unlike the milan system it replaced in the british army. The tracking gates in the sight system are easy to use and locks onto the target with ease. The only problem i had with the kit was it wasnt durable enough.
I like your videos, Chris. The content is serious but the delivery is fun. As for Javelin, I missed out on that. I am old enough to have been trained in the M72 LAW. I also fired the 90 and 106 mm recoilless rifles, and at one time, a 3.5 inch bazooka. Soldiers today have fancier gear.
Yeah but you can't use it for home defense like your stuff. A super bazooka is my choice for conceal and carry.
@@rogersmith7396 Yup. You could even fold it up for concealment.
Hey Cappy, I appreciate the flow of content lately. Been dealing with my own stuff related to my time with the 82nd 1st/504th and having a bit of a difficult time and even something small like looking forward to a new video from my favorite channel gives me a bit of light. On a side note I never got to use the Javelin in OIF but I did get to use the AT-4 a few times. Thing made me feel like I have a massive dong….which to be clear I do not 😂. Keep it up man.
Thank you for your service, my man. And don't be so hard on your dangus; it might outclass your near peers. Take care
@@sjb3460 E6 huh? You guys run the infantry as far as I’m concerned. Our NCO’s were the backbone of my platoon and entire division for that matter. Much respect for the time and grade man! It absolutely blows my mind that the country is more concerned with giving handouts than taking care of its own.
The Javelin is now proven in combat against real invading Russian tanks. This is now easily the best man portable AT weapon in the world
The NLAW has provided most vehicle kills and is cheaper.
I could only imagine 1000 angry Ukranian soldiers armed with these. Hell
Both weapon systems have their uses. NLAW is cheaper and lighter, but the javelin has much longer range.
@@Pallidum True, plus the javelin can target helicopters and has slightly better armour penetration. I think javelin is overkill for most uses in Ukraine.
@@MRIWILLPLAY Part of my former role in the Army was to monitor Guided Missile (GM) ranges and to render safe any misfired or blind missiles. Having observed hundreds of Javelin and NLAW firings I can say that NLAW is not as reliable as Javelin, to a point where I would get pissed off having to dispose of so many faulty NLAWs. Both missiles are highly effective when they function correctly.
And now we're all seeing how vital these weapons are and the difference they can make.
Let's hope Ukraine gets good use out of all their weapons, including the javelin
200 destroyed tanks and 600plus amoured vhiecle ukranians are puttng them to serious use
The US Army developed a new CLU as an improvement over the Block I version. The new CLU is 70 percent smaller, 40 percent lighter, and has a 50 percent battery life increase. Features of the lightweight CLU are: a long-wave IR sensor; a high-definition display with improved resolution; integrated handgrips; a five megapixel color camera; a laser point that can be seen visibly or through IR; a far target locator using GPS, a laser rangefinder, a heading sensor, and modernized electronics. The LWCLU has also demonstrated the ability to fire an FIM-92 Stinger, utilizing its superior optics with the anti-aircraft missile to identify and destroy small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
Good... Now they should consider handing them over to Ukrainians for some free "field testing".
@@Artem_Shepelev they will give them the ones that are in the stockpile because weapons and ammunition have a shelf life. so the oldest stuff is used first. and javelins have batteries that can die and then the whole thing doesn't work anymore.
Yeah, these and the Nlaw have made the tanks big, armored coffins at the Ukraine. The russians are so scared of the Javelins that they're building extra steel structures on top of their thanks but nothing seems to stop these delivering their payloads on targets. It's a devastating weapon especially against 19yo recruits with no battle experience and zero will to kill their fellow men. I feel really bad for both of the parties, the Russian TROOPS genuinely don't want to be there and Putin had to enforce to his commanders that they're under an oath to do their jobs in his latest of the speeches, suggesting the officers on site see something they don't like and very blatantly talk to Putin about it.
Ah yes, the cope cages.
I watched the steel frame installed at top of Russian tank. Its so ugly and cant stop Javells
@@maruli57 As of lately I've seen them also "armor" their cars with the fresh birch cut from the forest. Usually they try to protect the radiators, as the snipers can probably disable many cars with just a single hit to the radiator.
@@SgtPotShot we're calling them "Blyat slats" now lol
I felt bad at first for the Russian soldiers, but after all this child rape they can all burn
I was only a NG mechanic. Didn't even go to infantry school; but from basic in '89, I distinctly remember things about train as you fight or realistically.
In several training courses, like hand grenade training, they graded and failed you if you didn't approach a release point in a tactical manner: using cover and concealment, getting down behind cover and staying down, never popping up to shoot or throw from the same spot where you hit the dirt, not staying up to watch the impact or effect, not standing in a combat environment.
So I guess real professional infantry training has slipped since what they taught NG REMFs 30 years ago. Now everybody stands around jawing or filming on their phones, or finding a nice prominent place to gather, sit and fiddle and assemble the weapon, get ready for the shot, track and assess the hit all from that one spot. I suppose they're giving a friendly wave to the targets while they're all standing around in plain view.
Maybe it's even modern US military training to make sure you salute any officers that come around the watch the proceedings in a combat environment.
I was trained with the Dragon wire guided missile.
Thanks for this post I’ve always wondered about the Javelin 👍🏽👍🏽
In the Colombian Army we use the Spike ATGM from Israel. It performs very good with similar top attack features.
Watch your back. Better you develop your own missiles, it's not difficult.
Why
@@ashutoshnagarkar5248 whenever you see the name Israel just know that they arent your ally, they are your conditional trade partner. Thats what he means.
@@jker8581 That's how all of free trade works, it's only a temporary alliance. US-China is the same. Actually US-Germany-UK is largely the same too (US allies spy on each other all the time).
@@jker8581 US as a weapon supplier is also highly conditional and seasonal (presidental season meant). Still, turns out some fine piece of arms
You're one of my favourite ex-grunts here on youtube sir. Keep up the good work.
thanks for the words of encouragement man!
@@Taskandpurpose Holy hell the man himself responds! Made my day!
Thanks for the reply sir! Keep at it. This channel is one of the best blends of information and humour I've seen thus far. Cheers from the north!
Just discovered this channel last night and im hooked barely slept and now I'm watching at work 🤣🤣🤣
The other disadvantage of the TOW system is that the most _effective countermeasure_ against a incoming TOW is *to shoot the operator.*
So while the missile is in flight, the exposed gunner is target #1 for every armoured vehicle.
And 125mm tank shell flies much faster than a TOW missile.
Is it still used? Wire guided right?
@@rogersmith7396 Yes. Wire-guided.
Which should'nt last more than 3 seconds at the outside.
@@rogersmith7396 TOW flies at 278-320 m/s.
At a max range of 3,750 meters, it would take about 11.7-13.5” seconds to fly that far.
Of course, the missile would likely be fired at much closer distances, but that’s a lot of time.
This video ageing reeeeeaaaal well right now
When this video almost reaches 1million, it really tells you what's the current situation.
If the PLA ever get their hands on one of these, I'll be expecting them to make a new launcher system called Long Dong - 5
Unfortunately they do have an equivalent. RIP US land warfare technology advantage.
@@wgoulding Really? What's the name?
There’s a joke in there somewhere
@@mr.normalguy69 Tai Ni Wang
@@mr.normalguy69 HJ-12
People may be concerned about the price, and that is a pretty reasonable position to take. But you have to think how much enemy armor costs, and how devastating armor losses are for your enemy. a 40 thousand dollar projective is quite often small fish compared to a full on t-72. Compound that with extreme hit probability.
That´s why graphics cards are so expensive nowadays, the armies of the world just blow up all the needed raw materials in their single use rockets
Also why would anyone care how much it costs? Not like you're gonna personally pay for every missile you fire. I'd fire golden bullets if my Army issued it.
@vesna rivas I don't know. If my army issued me golden bullets, I'm sure a few of those rounds end up making their way into my pockets if at all possible. If you have ever worked with expensive equipment, it definitely stays on your mind to some degree that you better not break it or else your ass is in for it if you didn't do everything reasonable to protect it.
Add to this the cost of training a tank crew, which can take from 4 to 8 months.
the thing is you have to have alot more javilins then the enemy has tanks in order to provide the protection from tanks to all units. you also have to account for the fact the men and machines (like stryker APCs) carrying the javilins are vulnerable to alot of enemy weapons, meaning you are likely to loose alot of javilins when their operators go down to small arms and shell fragments.
then you have to account for the fact modern SPAA systems are now capable of shooting down missiles, the APS systems of the tanks themselves might intercept the missile. thermals on the tanks and their support recon units are likely to spot the glowing infantrymen shooting the missile (which becomes even more likely when the targeting system of the javilin goes live on a tank and its warning systems go off slinging the turret in the direction of the threat, etc) and lob a fast HE shell potentially before the missile properly calibrates (this is less likely in a javilin than a dragon but still more likely in a javilin than in a properally remote launched missile system).
and ofcaurse there is a decent chance the tank is recoverable unless you detonate the ammunition, so its often only a temporary tank loss.
over all you can never compare the individual cost of weapon systems, but the cost of deploying it to all units that will need it, and consider the chances of it being lost without providing a return to the investment. in other words you have to look at the situation as a whole.
I first saw these used against Martian tripods back in 2005. Very effective at close range.
It beat the crap out of the Flying Wing. Damn useless Air Force buys. They ought to buy those throttle jocks kiddy planes from the grocery store and a sack of quarters.
As long as the shields are down.
Damn. That was an excellent level of detail for those of us that don't want a dumbed down explanation
I thought I had shot these , but I had the ones that you have to hold the crosshairs on target. The first thing you get is knocked off target and distracted by smoke. Then you see the red of your missile and if you let the crosshairs move to the rocket for a second, you burn up all the correction fuel before you get back on target.
Fire and forget sounds great.
I used the CLU in Iraq in 04-05 on night OPs it was very useful saw a lot of things I couldn’t have seen with NVGs
Hello from Ukraine today. Your stuff is amazing :)
Good luck homie just know we almost assuredly giving these to you in secret you really think those military toilets cost $10,000
And the award "Best Aged Video on the Internet" goes to...
fire and forget, but i bet most of the time the trigger man wants to wait and see the boom. I did see a vid of it being used by a French squad being targeted by a an explosive laden vehicle being driven at them at speed, the boom was massive, I am sure those guys have nothing but good words about the javeline.
If you watch it in slow motion you can see a Perfect circle of fire from the Javelin, before the stuff in the Toyota doubled the radius chaging the form and speed of the boom.
French would have used their much better MILAN
@@andypappy945 That's what missed before they used the Javelin.
This aged beautifully
I think the solution to getting the cost of javelins down is putting more of its technology into civilian products. There is no reason I can’t own a hunting version of the javelin. Come on air burst top down buck shot sounds great
Not a hunter But I believe in this state you could only carry three rounds in the mag and one in the chamber. Its a sport after all.
I see a market for javelins as self defense weapons on the civilian market. What I'd do to vehicles speeding down the street my kids play by...
An anti-deer weapon says a nym called "doe"? I'll vote for that. Here in the Washington DC suburbs there's too many deer, and they destroy the ecosystem says science, not to mention a good portion of today's deer population actually carries the Covid-19 virus say scientists.
I hear you, i would like to use nuclear weapons for hunting. In case you didn't notice, that was sarcasm.
I never fired a Javelin or even carried one, but I did help develop the missile back in 1989-1991. It was called AAWS-M at the time, and the Army had high expectations for the system right from the beginning.
Well those expectations are popping Russian tanks and other armor.
Great timing
Recent events have made it abundantly clear that every country needs javelins lol
Everyone except Russia
5:24 that aged good
I suppose a different warhead and proximity fusing system could help take down a helicopter but then the Stinger crews would probably feel left out of the fun. The look-down scenario is kind of a classic seeker guidance and control problem. There are multi-mode (read: expensive) solutions but the Javelin was designed for a specific purpose. Tragic as this sounds, the current use of the Javelin will provide a lot of insight into what should be next in a product improvement. Great video and hats off to the crews using this amazing weapon system.
This video aged extremely well.
Well word is out, they're quite successful and getting quite the workout.
Well this aged well!
The Jav has reached sainthood in the past two weeks
Love how the first video you show of the Javelin at 0:10 doesn't have a Javelin in it. It's a British NLAW.
oh dang nice catch !
Also, whats up with using Arma 3 game footage?
I pray and praise to the St. Javelin
Today 02/26/2022, no question about it, the javelin is effective against Russian tanks, and helicopters.
I would be willing to bet that Javelin production has been ramped up now.
Ukrainians defiantly approve of the javelin weapon system. Russia can also agree to their effectiveness
The Javelin is about 30 years out now. The first successful flight took place in 1993, according to wkp. beside, there are some countermeasures.
I found it weird that the Army considers the Javelin as it's medium infantry anti tank weapon. With the Carl Gustav as the light, and TOW as the heavy. When I originally heard that, I thought it refered to the capability, but now I realize it literally just means weight.
Great informative presentation, and funny quips all along. Very military. Good job.
am wondering if this war between Ukraine and invading Russia will result in military analyst concluding that recon drones, missile strike capable drones, and portable anti-tank weapons like the Javilin have rendered a blitizkrieg strategy effectively neutralized. If Russia doesn't really have the economic wherewithal to drag this out for many weeks while enduring the heavy equipment losses that they are, this particular war may have signaled the resurgance of infantry soldiers as per the ultimate outcome of major engagements
It has been interesting, hard to know what goes on on the ground, but it appears that the javelin is insanely effective in a defensive situation. Hard to ignore the massive price delta between javelin's and armoured vehicles too. Because Russia has been unsuccessful initially, and it went the armour route, I think we can conclude the javelin is a defining element of modern warfare.
Russia has already dug itself into a hole they can't get out of. They have no way out in which they can save face and not be the world's biggest asshole and pariah on the world stage. But if they quite Ukraine and admit it was a huge mistake to attack, they might be allowed forgiveness...after paying penance in the form of billions in war reparations. It's the best way forward for Russia, not that I expect Mad Vlad Pootin' and his buttlickers to do it.
Blitzkrieg as a strategy is achievable in the modern day if a military is well-equipped and most importantly well-prepared to execute it. Unfortunately, the Russians appear to be both ill-equipped and ill-prepared for blitzkrieg, hence their rather embarrassing showing. Stuff like the rather ineffective (or nonexistent) SEAD tactics, the rather conspicuous absence of the air force in a meaningful capacity, the major logistics issues, etc., have done more to blunt the advance than US ATGMs imo. IMO, if it had been the US that performed the blitz Ukraine would've fallen within a week, since they would've undergone several weeks of aerial bombing prior before boots on the ground even touch Ukrainian soil.
I wouldn't deny though that that recon drones, attack drones, and ATGMs have proven to be highly effective in this conflict, and indeed a lot of discussions on future warfare are going to center around discourse on how said systems will be major players.
6:32 so the reason Li-So2 batteries are used in situations like this are because they hold much more usable power per weight than a regular rechargeable lithium ion cell. They are also resistant to extreme temperatures that would seriously impact the performance of a rechargeable cell. I work with some much smaller versions of these kind of cells in a few niche healthcare applications.
TIL this. Thank you.
Here we are at Feb 28, 2022 and know how well they perform against Russian armor. Awesomely.
The next evolution of these portable missiles will be the ability to fire vertically while being completely behind cover or a building, and using a small portable drone to ‘laser’ the target to provide tracking for the missile. All of the tech already exists so its just a matter of putting it all together in one system. Multiple militaries are already testing and using small portable drones for recon.
A2G Aim9x so to speak. Nice idea.
I carried the predecessor of the Dragon. It was the 44 lb. M67 90mm recoiless rifle , a type of bazooka. We treated it with shocking abuse.
If I recall, I think Ian said if not careful you had a good chance of blowing your face off with those. Important safety tip.
@@rogersmith7396 unfortunately I never was allowed to fire the real ammunition, but an adaptor with a 7.62 round.
@@DSS-jj2cw They use them in CO in the ski patrol. Sign up.
Former Javelin qualified grunt here! I’d love to see what a Jav can do to the most modern Russian tanks,
Probably not much as long as they are not used in stupid ways. If in stupid ways, then quite a lot.
Russians win. Its a combined weapons battlefield. Russians gots lots of artillery
@@raywhitehead730 lol
Depends on which tanks. Old t-72s and t-80s get slaughtered, but T-14s and newer variants of t-90s have active anti missile systems that will shoot it down. Same goes for Chinese Type 99s. Most of Russian tanks in service are older ones due to cost reasons.
@@georgedang449 Translation, newer tanks with active protection are more or less immune, older tanks suffer 2% knock out rate and about 0.2% destruction rate. Based on Israeli data.
If i didn't play CoD MW 2 few years ago, maybe I never know this weapon system
Looks like the company manufacturing the Javelin will have record sales this year
First heard of the Javelin in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Still remembering my days as a kid pretending to fire a Javelin using a monobloc chair after watching my dad played the game lol
F's in the chat for Private West. We would've not hit those tanks in the overpass without him
It is so OP that you don't need to see a target in the game. lol
The Tactical Mullet: All Combat in the front... A little bit of War Crime in the back!
Think the NLAW with predictive targeting, downward facing shaped charge for a top attack, and significantly more man portable and cheaper than Javelin, may be more useful right now ..
Or spike SR, 2k range, fire and forget. And only weighs 9.6 kilos comperd to NLOW 12.5.
Estonia just purchased 500 of those
I love how you didn't mention the significant range difference....
@@kameronjones7139 mainly because I don't see it as a range issue, more a mobility and deployment one....
The javelin is top tier, but it is very heavy. On a highly mobile, dynamic battlefield, with large numbers of armoured vehicles shutting down ranges in short timescales, lighter man portable options would be preferable
@@stephentrayner3870 then you very much don't understand how important range is especially when your max range is 600 meters. I sure hope that extra mobility can make you move at the speed of sound because you aren't going to get close unless in very specific situations
@@kameronjones7139 take your point however putting it into current context i.e Ukraine, any advance will be onto fortified well developed trench positions. Defenders will need effective short range high impact munitions.
Nobody is arguing with you here about the javelins capabilities, and no one is saying it's one or the other, each is suited for particular scenarios and environments. If they weren't useful they wouldn't be in use.
My friend, this was a visionary episode!
Somewhere, at this minute, a Ukrainian infantry platoon is playing a cat and mouse game with a Russian tank column with its Javelins.
Gave that platoon leader some arty and an obstacle then viola defeated Russian tank column.
They seem to be doing well, Chris.
I was thinking that it really shows money US Army is throwing around when it's had had squad/platoon issue ATGMs at least since eighties (i think) when only recently FDF got guided missiles in form of NLAW for company level AT-assets, when previously ATGMs at best have been battalion assets in mechanized brigades and brigade level assets in motorized brigades.
Then I realize that minimum firing range given on javelin probably shows what causes difference when planning to stop armoured thrust through Fulda Gap vs stopping armoured columns through less open Finnish countryside. lol
All batteries are based on chemical reaction producing electrical discharge. Civilian batteries have charge-on-demand, but military batteries tend to require extremely high voltage output, so their chemical reactions are intense, quick-activated, short, and one-use only, like the molten salt batteries found in AAM, AGM and SAM systems. This is probably where the term "weapons hot" comes from, since the voltage provided lasts only a short time while the salt is molten. The Stinger BCU uses compressed Argon to mitigate the heat produced by its molten salt battery, which is why it lasts only 45 seconds before requiring disposal.
..I’d say NOT ‘EVERY’ military needs the Javelin..ONLY those who LOVE FREEDOM.
This video aged sooo welll
This video is so relevant now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, this system is the reason we keep seeing Russian tanks burning in Ukraine. Looks like the javelin can easily handle modern Russian main tanks.
There are lots of different atgms being used in Ukraine plus they also manufacture their own atgm systems
One thing about having lots of javelins in the field is that everyone is looking for the things when your mines, C4 and mortars are making things go bang.