The Javelin Joint Venture team, a partnership of Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a business of Raytheon Technologies, and Lockheed Martin completed the first production Javelin F-Model (FGM-148F) missile.

The Javelin Joint Venture completed the first production F-Model missile, which adds an advanced, multipurpose warhead (Picture source: Lockheed Martin)

Javelin is a versatile, man-portable, fire-and-forget weapon system. The F-Model has an advanced, multipurpose warhead that can defeat current and future armor, including explosive reactive armor. The F-Model also adds a fragmenting steel case to take out soft targets and light armored vehicles. “The F-Model combines multiple features such as blast fragmentation and high-explosive anti-tank into a single warhead,” said David Pantano, Javelin Joint Venture vice president and Lockheed Martin Javelin program director. “We’re helping prepare our warfighters for any mission by reducing the need for different rounds for different targets.”

Javelin has been used extensively in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. U.S. and coalition forces have used the Javelin in more than 5,000 engagements since its deployment in 1996. With orders for more than 45,000 Javelin missiles, the system is expected to be in the U.S. military’s operational inventory through 2050. As such, Javelin is subject to continual upgrades to retain overmatch against emerging threats and to support evolving operational needs.