The Army is delaying a full-rate production contract for anti-armor missile launch units by at least three months, according to a service spokesperson.
According to the 2023 Director of Operational Test and Evaluation report, the Army intended to award a full-rate production contract for the lighter variant of the Javelin’s launch unit in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 after getting results from an unreleased Follow-on Operational Test & Evaluation report.
“The Army is currently scheduled to award a Lightweight Command Launch Unit (LWCLU) full-rate production contract in 4QFY24,” Darrell Ames, a spokesperson at the program executive office for missile and space programs, wrote in an email to Inside Defense.
Designed to locate targets, testing on the LWCLU also exposed battery longevity issues, which Ames noted the Army is currently evaluating and “ensuring all performance requirements are achieved.”
Ames added the Army will also complete cyber survivability testing on the missile during the same quarter.
The Army will also verify “corrective actions” to update the missile’s test and evaluation master plan (TEMP) as well as flight and lethality tests following a flight test failure in FY-22, Ames said, without specifying a time frame.
“Once verifications are complete the Javelin Product Office will develop a new timeline and schedule; the TEMP will be updated at that time,” Ames added.
The full-rate production decision, cyber survivability and TEMP are part of the Army’s independent evaluations of the Javelin missile and its launch unit, the 2023 DOT&E report states.
“While analysis is ongoing and DOT&E expects to release a report in 2QFY24, early results from the LUT and FOT&E indicate that the LW CLU achieved its performance requirements,” the report said, summarizing the missile’s evaluations.
Last September, the Army issued a market survey to address "obsolescence" issues and to seek ways to improve the missile’s effectiveness.
Manufactured by Lockheed and RTX, the Javelin is a man-portable and shoulder-launched missile designed to defeat armored targets up to 2,500 meters. The system consists of the missile, a disposable launch tube and a reusable command launch unit.
After launch, the missile guides itself to the target, allowing the operator to seek cover from any counter fire.
Accompanying the missile and its launch tube, the LWCLU is designed to locate potential targets for the operator. Without the missile, the launch unit can also be used independently to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance.
The Army intends to procure between 930 and 1,692 Javelins during each fiscal year between FY-25 and FY-29, according to service budget documents. During the same period, the service will also spend between $10 and $10.4 million on system improvements, the documents add.
Since February 2022, the U.S. has supplied Ukraine with more than 10,000 Javelins, as the country attempts to counter an invasion from Russia.