U.S. Approves $107.7 Million Javelin Missile Sale to Tunisia

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of Javelin missiles to Tunisia for an estimated cost of $107.7 million, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday.

The prime contractors for the sale will be Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp.

Tunisia has requested to purchase 184 Javelin FGM-148F missiles (including 4 fly-to-buy missiles) and 30 Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units (LWCLU), along with training, manuals, spare parts, simulation rounds, and other logistical support.

Tunisia has no confirmed record of previously acquiring the Javelin missile, relying instead on older anti-tank technologies. The proposed 2024 sale would mark the first deployment of the Javelin system within Tunisia's armed forces.

The Javelin missile is a man-portable, fire-and-forget, infrared-guided weapon with a range of up to 2.5 miles (4 km), designed with a tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead to defeat modern armored vehicles. Weighing approximately 22.3 pounds (10.1 kg) for both the missile and launch unit, the system includes the Lightweight Command Launch Unit (LWCLU), which weighs around 12.5 pounds (5.7 kg). The Javelin is used against tanks, armored vehicles, and other heavily protected targets, using an infrared homing guidance system for precision targeting.