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Javelin
After playing a starring role in the Ukraine conflict, the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile is in line for a range extension.
The Aviation & Missile Center of the U.S. Army’s Development Command released a solicitation on Sept. 29 to further extend the range of the Lockheed Martin/Raytheon-made weapon.
The Army previously fielded the FGM-149 Block 1 upgrade in 2013 that nearly doubled the range to as far as 4.7 km (2.92 mi.).
A distance goal for the Javelin’s second range upgrade has not been publicly released. But the upgrade will focus on enlarging the L3Harris solid rocket motor, extending the combustion chamber by about 2 in.
“The current Javelin flight motor’s combustion chamber length constrains the missile’s engagement range, limiting the standoff distance available to the warfighter against evolving armored threats,” the Army says in the solicitation.
The upgrade also will insert a redesigned propellant grain, featuring a nitrocellulose/nitroglycerin propellant solution potentially with nitramines, the solicitation adds.
The Army envisions a 24-month schedule after contract award for a contractor to deliver and test three upgraded Javelin missiles.
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