The Javelin Joint Venture, a collaborative venture between RTX business Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, has secured two contracts worth a total of $267 million from the U.S. Army to produce Lightweight Command Launch Units.
RTX said Tuesday that the first contract covers full-rate production of the LWCLU while the second contract covers low-rate initial production. Work for both efforts will be carried out in Tucson, Arizona.
The LWCLUs to be produced under the contracts will not only benefit the U.S. military but support foreign military sales to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well.
The JJV has provided the Army with over 50,000 Javelin missiles and more than 12,000 reusable Command Launch Units so far.
Compared to the Block I Command Launch Unit currently used by the Army, the Javelin LWCLU is 30% smaller and 25% lighter. It also has enhanced target detection and recognition capabilities. The LWCLU integrates with past, existing and future Javelin variants as well.
Andy Amaro, JJV president and Javelin program director at Raytheon, stated, “Achieving full-rate production for the LWCLU is a significant milestone that will achieve cost efficiencies, reduce risk and, most importantly, accelerate delivery times.”
Dave Pantano, JJV vice president and Javelin program director at Lockheed Martin, added, “The Lightweight Command Launch Unit is a cutting-edge deterrence solution that will allow for increased mobility when it’s needed most through the use of more efficient fire-and-forget technology.”
