Orders for anti-tank missiles jump after nations see them working in Ukraine

(Originally published Sept. 2 in “What in the World“) Russia bombarded the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with missiles and guided bombs after a massive Ukrainian drone strike against Russia’s energy infrastructure.

The U.S. Army has ordered up $1.3 billion more Javelin anti-tank missiles to replace those the Pentagon gave Ukraine from its existing stockpiles. Like the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars, orders for Javelins have jumped since Ukrainian forces demonstrated their effectiveness was demonstrated against Russian invaders. Since then, the joint venture in Alabama between Lockheed Martin and RTX that makes the Javelin has received orders from Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Latvia, Morocco, Romania, and Thailand. It’s also signed an MoU to make Javelins jointly with a company in Poland.

The Army has, meanwhile, deployed a new long-range, hypersonic weapon, or LRHW. Troops used the LRHW during exercises with the Air Force. Developed in 2018, the LRHW uses a rocket to boost a missile to a specific height and speed, at which point the missile glides downwards towards its target faster than the speed of sound. The U.S. Navy plans to start deploying the LRHW aboard its destroyers and submarines next year.

Manila said China’s coast guard rammed its own coast guard vessel, the Teresa Magbanua, which it has anchored at Sabina Shoal to prevent what it says are Chinese efforts to build a base on the disputed atoll.