Javelin (surface-to-air missile)
Javelin is a British man-portable surface-to-air missile, formerly used by the British Army and Canadian Army. It can be fired from the shoulder, or from a dedicated launcher named the Lightweight Multiple Launcher (LML), that carries three rounds, and can be vehicle mounted.
| Javelin | |
|---|---|
British soldier posing with Javelin triple launcher, 1995 | |
| Type | Manportable surface-to-air missile |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Thales Air Defence |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 11.1 kilograms (24 lb) (missile) 24.3 kilograms (54 lb) (system) |
| Length | 1.39 metres (4 ft 7 in) |
| Diameter | 76 millimetres (3 in) |
| Crew | 1 |
| Effective firing range | 300 to 4,500 metres (980 to 14,760 ft) against jets to 5,500 metres (18,000 ft) against helicopters |
| Warhead | High-explosive warhead |
| Warhead weight | 2.74 kilograms (6.0 lb) (containing 0.6 kilograms (1.3 lb) of HE) with contact and proximity fuzes |
Detonation mechanism | Impact force or proximity fuze |
| Engine | Solid fuel rocket |
| Maximum speed | Mach 1.7+ approx. |
Guidance system | SACLOS system |
The missile is an updated version of the earlier Blowpipe of the 1970s. Blowpipe used a manual guidance system which proved hard to use effectively in combat during the Falklands War where only two destroyed aircraft could be definitively attributed to the system. Javelin replaced the manual guidance system with a semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) system that only required the operator to keep their gunsight pointed at the target. A tracking system in the launcher's optics compared the location of the missile to the line-of-sight and sent it commands over a radio link to guide it. This version entered service in 1984, and was later known as Javelin GL.
Further upgrades to the missile added a fully automatic guidance system to produce the Javelin S-15. This was sold commercially, and is better known, as the Starburst surface-to-air missile. These began to replace the GL in British Army service in 1993, although the GL remained in use as a training system. Both were replaced by Starstreak starting around 1997.
Javelin GL was hastily purchased by the Canadian Forces to replace the Blowpipes that failed last-minute tests during preparations for the deployment to the Persian Gulf for the First Gulf War (1990–1991). It was later replaced by the Javelin S15 until retired without replacement in 2005.