Ukraine, U.S. Allies to Get $309M Worth Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles

The Javelin Joint Venture won two contracts worth combined $309 million to deliver Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine and few other U.S. allies.

These contracts include more than 1300 Javelin missiles funded from the recent Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act and orders for several international customers including Norway, Albania, Latvia and Thailand, Lockheed Martin said in a release.

Javelin is developed and produced by the Javelin Joint Venture, a partnership of Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Lockheed Martin. The versatile anti-tank and multi-target guided missile system offers fire-and-forget capability over its full range – up to 4 kilometers in most operational conditions.

Also read: Ukrainian Forces Need 500 Stinger, Javelin Missiles a Day

The U.S. has rushed $3.4 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, including Javelins as well as howitzers, anti-aircraft Stinger systems, ammunition and body armor.

Lockheed Martin to Double Production Rate of Javelin Missiles

Lockheed Martin said it is investing to increase the missile production rate beyond the current 2,100 per year. Likewise, Raytheon is investing to maximize production of the reusable light-weight command launch unit.

CEO James Taiclet said in an interview with CBS News last week that the company aims to boost Javelin output to 4,000 per year.

“We’re endeavoring to take that up to 4,000 per year, and that will take a number of months, maybe even a couple of years to get there because we have to get our supply chain to also crank up,” Taiclet said. “We think we can almost double the capacity in a reasonable amount of time.”

"We can start turning up the heat now and ramping up production immediately," Taiclet added.

To date, the Javelin Joint Venture has produced more than 50,000 Javelin missiles and more than 12,000 reusable Command Launch Units. Javelin is expected to remain in the U.S. weapon arsenal until 2050 and is subject to continual upgrades to retain overmatch against emerging threats and to support evolving operational needs.