Poland has requested the purchase of 180 Javelin missiles and 79 Launch Units.

The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Poland of one hundred eighty (180) Javelin missiles and seventy-nine (79) Javelin Command Launch Units (CLUs) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $100 million

A British Soldier, assigned to the Balaklava Troop, C Squadron, also known as the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, teaches a Polish Soldier the operations of a Javelin anti-tank guided missile system in support of NATO's enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Poland in Bemowo Piskie, Poland, Jan. 30, 2020. (Picture source U.S. DoD)

The Government of Poland has requested to buy one hundred eighty (180) Javelin missiles and seventy-nine (79) Javelin Command Launch Units (CLUs). Also included are Basic Skill Trainers (BST), Missile Simulation Rounds (MSR), Battery Coolant Units (BCU), tool kits, modified 2-level maintenance parts, training, U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance, transportation and other related elements of logistics support. The total estimated program cost is $100 million.

This proposed sale of the Javelin system will help Poland build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements. Poland will have no difficulty absorbing this system into its armed forces.

The prime contractors will be Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture, Orlando, Florida and Tucson, Arizona. The Javelin is a portable anti-tank weapon manufactures jointly by the American companies Raytheon / Lockheed Martin. 

The Javelin system consists of the CLU and the missile. With a carry weight of 6.4kg, the CLU incorporates a passive target acquisition and fire control unit with integrated day sight and thermal imaging capabilities. The Javelin missile's tandem warhead is a HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) type. This round utilizes an explosive shaped charge to create a stream of superplastically deformed metal formed from trumpet-shaped metallic liners. The result is a narrow high-velocity particle stream that can penetrate armor.

The Javelin missile has a maximum firing range of 4,000. The tandem shaped charge HEAT warhead can penetrate up to 750mm of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) that is a type of armor made of a single steel composition hot-rolled to improve its material characteristics, as opposed to layered or cemented armor.