U.S. Army gets new Javelin launcher that’s lighter and longer ranged

The Javelin Joint Venture delivered the first Lightweight Command Launch Units to the U.S. Army, putting a next-generation launcher into soldiers’ hands that offers twice the target detection and recognition range of the unit it replaces while cutting weight by 25 percent and size by 30 percent.

The delivery, announced from Tucson, Arizona where Raytheon manufactures the launcher, marks the first fielding of hardware that the joint venture between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin has been developing to modernize one of the most combat-proven anti-tank systems in the American arsenal.

The Javelin has been the backbone of American infantry anti-armor capability since it entered service in 1996, replacing the older Dragon missile system with a fire-and-forget weapon that allows the operator to take cover immediately after launch rather than tracking the target through a guidance wire. That fire-and-forget capability, enabled by an imaging infrared seeker that locks onto the heat signature of a vehicle before launch and guides itself to impact, transformed how infantry units engaged armor because it removed the operator from the exposure window that wire-guided missiles required. The missile strikes from above, hitting the thinner top armor of tanks rather than the heavily protected frontal arc, a mode of attack that has proven lethal against every tank it has encountered in combat. Ukraine has used Javelins extensively against Russian armored vehicles since 2022, and the weapon’s effectiveness in that conflict has driven demand for both the missiles and the launch equipment to levels that production lines have struggled to meet.

The Command Launch Unit, the targeting and firing device that operators carry alongside the missile itself, has historically been one of the Javelin system’s heavier and more cumbersome components. At roughly 14 pounds for the legacy unit, it adds significant weight to an infantry soldier’s load on top of the missile rounds themselves, each of which weighs approximately 35 pounds. Reducing the launcher’s weight by 25 percent translates to approximately three and a half pounds off a soldier’s back, a reduction that compounds in significance over long movements or extended operations where cumulative load is a direct factor in physical performance and combat effectiveness. The 30 percent size reduction makes the unit easier to stow, carry, and position in the confined spaces that urban combat and vehicle mounting increasingly demand.

Twice the target detection and recognition range is the capability improvement that carries the most operational weight. The legacy command launch unit’s optics set the engagement envelope that infantry anti-armor teams could exploit, and in the years since Javelin entered service, potential adversaries have invested in longer-range tank and indirect fire systems that can engage infantry positions before those positions can bring Javelin to bear. An expanded detection and recognition range allows Javelin teams to identify and engage armored targets at distances where the threat cannot yet effectively respond, restoring the standoff advantage that the system was originally designed to provide and that adversary capability improvements have partially eroded.

Jenna Hunt Frazier, JJV president and Javelin program director at Raytheon, described the delivery in terms of the joint venture’s ongoing modernization commitment: “Delivering the first LWCLUs to the U.S. Army reflects the Javelin Joint Venture’s commitment to continuously advancing technology for service members. Our investments in modernization and production capacity ensures soldiers receive this cutting-edge capability faster.”

Rich Liccion, JJV vice president and Lockheed Martin Javelin program director, addressed the design philosophy behind the upgraded unit: “The production and delivery of the LWCLU marks a pivotal step in modernizing the Javelin system for today’s warfighter. Its innovative design enhances mobility and survivability while preserving the precision firepower that users rely on.”

Raytheon has invested $22 million to modernize the LWCLU production facility in Tucson, with the goal of increasing annual production speed and expanding capacity in collaboration with the Army. That investment figure reflects the broader industrial pressure that the conflict in Ukraine has placed on Western anti-tank missile production, with demand for Javelin missiles and associated equipment running well ahead of what the existing production infrastructure was sized to deliver.

The United States has transferred thousands of Javelin missiles to Ukraine, drawing down stockpiles that require replenishment while simultaneously maintaining supply to U.S. Army units and fulfilling foreign military sales commitments to allied nations that also operate the system. Expanding LWCLU production capacity addresses one dimension of that replenishment challenge, ensuring that new missiles can be paired with new launchers rather than being held back by a launcher production bottleneck.

The LWCLU is designed for compatibility with all current, past, and future Javelin missile variants, which means units receiving the new launcher do not face the complication of managing a mixed fleet of missiles that only work with specific launcher versions. That backward and forward compatibility reduces logistics complexity and training burden, allowing armories and supply chains to treat the launcher as a single interchangeable item rather than a version-specific component that must be matched to specific missile lots.