Kris Osborn
Ukraine keeps needing more anti-tank missiles, the Army has massively revved up production and Russian tanks continue to get decimated … all because of the performance of Javelin Anti-Armor weapons. Demand for the weapons continues to soar as the weapons have proven their value in Ukraine far beyond what may have been initial expectations.
Now, the US Army has placed the largest single-year Javelin order in history, awarding Lockheed and Raytheon a deal to build upon and add to a deal from last year calling for the production of thousands of new Javelin All Up Round ammunition per year into 2026.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion several years ago, Ukrainians have been using shoulder-fired anti-armor weapons to cripple Russia’s armored assault. The weapons are extremely effective in a kinetic sense and have proven valuable in combat for years, yet they have also been employed by Ukrainians in tactically innovative ways. Ukrainians used hit-and-run-style ambushes, elevated terrain and urban structures to target and destroy advancing Russian tanks and armored vehicles. Dismounted groups of Javelin-armed Ukrainian fighters would assemble and then disperse quickly to surprise advancing Russian armor when formations were traveling over bridges, through narrowly configured passageways or otherwise vulnerable positions. The result has been crippling for Russia, and a recent Army intelligence report analyzing current wars found that Russia’s entire active duty tank force of more than 3,000 tanks have been destroyed. The Army’s Research Analysis, called “The Operational Environment 2024-2034 Large-Scale Combat Operations.” (US Army Training and Doctrine Command, G2), found that as of July 2024, 3,197 tanks have been destroyed.
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