According to the contractor’s statement, Kratos will develop a new guidance system and then conduct a full cycle of laboratory and field testing. Two main reasons for the modernization were identified:
- elimination of obsolete components — some electronic components used in older Javelin variants no longer meet current production and supply-security standards;
- increased combat capability — experience from recent conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, has demonstrated growing requirements for anti-tank systems.
The statement emphasized that the combat use of Javelins in Ukraine is providing valuable data on the system’s performance under a wide range of conditions, from urban combat to operations in open terrain. This information is expected to support further improvements to the design. FGM-148 Javelin-family missiles are produced by the Javelin Joint Venture established by RTX and Lockheed Martin. In response to growing requirements from the US Armed Forces and numerous export orders, the consortium is steadily expanding production capacity.
- current production rate: 2,400 missiles annually;
- planned production rate by the end of 2026: 3,960 missiles annually.
More than 55,000 missiles of various versions have been produced to date and delivered to numerous countries, including Poland. More than 10,000 have been transferred to Ukraine under military assistance programs, where they have been extensively used against Russian armored vehicles.
Photo: USMC
Modernization of the seeker is one of the most significant developments in the Javelin system since the introduction of the FGM-148F variant. The new contract could:
- increase the missile’s resistance to electronic countermeasures;
- improve its effectiveness against modern armored targets;
- simplify logistics and maintenance through the use of newer components;
- strengthen Javelin’s position on the export market.
Against the backdrop of growing demand for anti-tank weapons and lessons learned from recent conflicts, the Kratos project could become one of the key modernization efforts within the US arsenal.