A soldier from the 101st Airborne Division carries a Javelin missile system across rugged terrain at the Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, on Oct. 19, 2025. A new and improved Javelin launcher system was recently delivered to the Army, providing increased range with a smaller, more lightweight design. (Brian Sutherland/U.S. Army)
The U.S. Army is now in possession of the next generation of the Javelin anti-tank weapon, a system designed to help soldiers identify and destroy targets from farther away and with less weight to carry.
A recent delivery of the new and improved Javelin system offers soldiers double the target detection and recognition range of its predecessor, according to a Tuesday statement by weapons conglomerate RTX.
Known as the Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Unit, the upgraded version is also 30% smaller and 25% lighter, the statement said.
The Javelin launcher and its anti-tank guided munition were developed in the 1980s and early 1990s. The system can be carried and launched by a single soldier or Marine or mounted on a ground vehicle.
U.S. stocks have been depleted in recent years, as more than 10,000 Javelin systems have been sent to Ukraine, where the weapon became a potent symbol of resistance against Russia’s invasion.
The system even inspired a fictional religious figure named Saint Javelin, which was turned into a product line to benefit the Ukrainian war effort.
The next-generation launcher features an enhanced gunner interface and infrared camera technology, according to a statement on a U.S. government contracting website.
The upgraded system’s range should increase from 1.5 miles to just over 2.5 miles once its new G-model missile is delivered, the statement added.
The system was fired over 5,000 times during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and is scheduled to remain in the government inventory until at least 2050, Raytheon says on its website.
The weapon is produced by the Javelin Joint Venture, a partnership between RTX subsidiary Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
The new Javelin is compatible with all past, current and planned future missile variants, the RTX statement said.
The Defense Department issued a $33 million contract for the new system in June 2022, with deliveries slated to begin in 2025.
However, development was delayed because of software issues and the G-model missile’s failure during a test flight in fiscal 2022, according to a 2025 Pentagon report.
Raytheon invested $22 million to speed up production of the weapon and expand the capacity of the facility where it’s made, the statement said.
