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Than "light javelins" FGM-172 SRAW did not suit the US Marine Corps

Than «light javelins» FGM-172 SRAW did not arrange US Marine Corps

To reduce infantry dependence on anti-tank units, in the United States at one time found a pretty good way out - armed parts of the Marine Corps FGM-172 SRAW, which are also called "light javelins".

FGM-172 SRAW Predator - disposable anti-tank missile system. However, it is often called a large-caliber grenade launcher, although in the classification of NATO countries only reusable weapons are called grenade launchers, and all other samples are classified as "rocket launchers".

The American army thought about the need to equip linear infantry units with such weapons back in the distant 1980s. After all, the American armed forces then felt the lack of heavy weapons for the infantry squads, with the help of which infantrymen could independently solve the tasks of defeating the enemy’s armored vehicles.

As a result, 2002 in the arsenal of the Marine Corps appeared "light javelins" manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation. So the large-caliber grenade launchers were nicknamed for a reason, after all, in fact, they are a lightweight modification of the FGM-148 Javelin with some nuances. FGM-172 SRAW is a disposable grenade launcher and uses caliber ammunition 140 mm. Effective range is 400 meters - not so bad for such a weapon.

Hiding in buildings and structures, infantryman, armed FGM-172 SRAW, can calmly track the target and launch a rocket. This makes ATGMs of this type a very effective weapon during military operations in urban areas..

pros “light javelins”

The undoubted advantage of the "light javelin" is the inertial control system. The shooter may not pay attention to related factors such as air temperature or wind level.. Thanks to the autopilot of the rocket, it is held on the line of sight, and during the flight, the autopilot fulfills the lead angle to the meeting point in order to. In fact, in the hands of the American infantryman is a precision weapon, allowing to shoot, hit the target and further solve other combat missions.

At the head of the rocket are the head fuse, programmable detonator and warhead, made with a funnel, shock core. The warhead is detonated by a signal from a head fuse or with a slowdown. If undermining is carried out immediately, then the charge forms the shock core, piercing target defense.

Than «light javelins» FGM-172 SRAW did not arrange US Marine Corps

The hole in diameter is wider, than rocket body, moreover, part of the explosives strikes targets behind cover with shell fragments. If we talk about slowing down, then the charge is activated after the rocket penetrates into weak shelters, for example, in trenches and other earthworks.

The FGM-172 SRAW has obvious cons

It is because of them that this weapon did not suit the American marines.

First of all, this is a solid mass of weapons - 9 kg. Besides, due to the inertial missile control system had to reduce the mass of the warhead, which weighs 2 kg 300 g, what experts consider insufficient weight for ammunition of this caliber.

Another drawback, true not technical, but of an economic nature, is the high cost of a one-time ATGM. This circumstance has become one of the main obstacles to equipping most of the linear units of the American infantry with such weapons.. After all, at first it was supposed, that almost every foot soldier will be armed with a "light javelin". It turned out - expensive, and it’s pointless after the reduction due to the collapse of the “eastern block” of the huge tank fleet, possessed by the Soviet army.

Than «light javelins» FGM-172 SRAW did not arrange US Marine Corps

Rehearsal video of Victory Day parade published on Youtube

As a result, the U.S. Marine Corps was armed with a fairly modest amount of FGM-172 SRAW. This is about 1000 units. Indeed, at the company level, the Marine Corps prefer the heavier FGM-148 Javelin.

maybe, most of the "light javelins" have been upgraded to the FGM-172B, designed to defeat light armored vehicles (armored vehicles, armored reconnaissance vehicles) and ground fortifications of the enemy, but also this weapon, as it appears, has been expended during the numerous and lengthy campaigns of the American army in the Near and Middle East.

Ilya Polonsky

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