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Weapon Wednesdays: Metal Gear Solid - FGM-148 Javelin

Sep. 4 5:40 AM by Dylan Duarte

The Javelin is portable anti-tank guided missile. I first discovered the weapon in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. You use it very early on to tank out some enemy tanks on an overpass. By the time I noticed it in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, I was more than aware of its destructive capabilities.

The US Army introduced its advanced anti-tank weapon system in 1983, but the first Javelin test wasn't until 1991. Five years later, the first units were deployed to the US Army.

The Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile, meaning that it locks-on to its target prior to firing and guides itself automatically. When used against tanks, it uses a top-attack flight profile, meaning that it goes up in the air about 150m then comes down on top of the target, where the armor is usually the weakest. It can also use a direct-attack system for things like helicopters and fortifications.

In Metal Gear Solid 4, the weapon is used in a different way and is not of the fire-and-forget variety. When fired, you must use the right analog stick to control the missile, somewhat similar to the Nikita missile launcher used in other Metal Gear Solids, which is also ficticious.

The weapon utilizes a "soft launch arrangement", meaning that the missile is ejected a safe distance away from the operator before its main thrusters kick on. This allows for the weapon to be fired from inside of buildings, though injury can still result from the back-blast of the launch tube. Note to self: do not stand behind someone operating a Javelin.

While the Javelin can be operated by a single man, it is usually carried by a two man team, which the second man scanning the area for targets and keeps watch for hostiles. Of course we all know that Solid Snake is capable of both of these things.

Source: Wikipedia

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