US Javelin Missile Becomes Weapon of the Ukrainian Resistance

Published in Vanguardia
(Mexico) on 26 March 2022
by Mauricio Ortega Galindo (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Adam Wambeke. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
The Javelin anti-armor missile, the weapon of the Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion, was dedicated as "a saint," with a meme of Mary Magdalene with one of these projectiles going viral on social networks.

After the Russian occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, the United States has supplied 1,600 Javelin anti-armor systems to Ukraine. It was announced in the middle of this month that another 2,000 will be added, along with 7,000 anti-tank shells of other types.

Everything indicates that so far they are working; according to the U.S. and its allies, the advance of Russia, which is using armored cars, has been obstructed since the beginning of the invasion on Feb. 24 thanks to the Ukrainian resistance.

"Quite simply, the Javelin is the best missile system in the U.S. and probably the world," said retired Col. Liam Collins, executive director of the Madison Policy Forum think tank.*

In this sense, he called to mind that in 2014 the Russian T-90 tanks that crossed the border in support of the separatists of the Donbas region of Ukraine were “impenetrable” to the anti-armor defenses available to the Ukrainians. “That's why we had to supply them (the Ukrainians) with Javelins, capable of eliminating the most modern Russian tank, with the most armor and which is reactive, to put them out of the game,” he said.*

The Javelin is a missile of the “fire-and-forget" type. That is, once it is launched, it does not need any additional guidance, whether it be the illumination of the target or a cable to hit its target, or that its launcher remains in place.

In this way, the person who fires this missile, which can be carried on the shoulder, doesn't have to expose himself, as happened with the old anti-tank shells, which “had to remain connected all the time with a heavy cable used to guide the missile,” Col. Collins said.*

For his part, Michael Patrick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, specified that the Javelin enables the shooter “to hide in a ditch, you begin to run or do what you need to not die, while the missile is tracking with infrared imagery.”*

The Javelin is light and hits the target from above and not sideways like other missiles, so it hits armored cars directly at their weak point; this can be done from two miles away.

Mulroy, founder of the Lobo Institute, a retired Marine and former CIA paramilitary operations officer, highlighted another quality: It costs about $200,000 compared to the about $20 million that a state-of-the-art tank can be worth.

The Javelins are developed and produced by American companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. They have gained a lot of notoriety thanks to a meme created by the Ukrainian-Polish-Canadian marketing specialist Christian Borys of “Saint Javelin:” a Mary Magdalene carrying this missile, that has gone viral in recent weeks.

Borys created a website on which he sells stickers and other products with the image of “Saint Javelin” for the purpose of raising funds to give humanitarian aid to Ukrainians.

"Saint Javelin" is a tribute to a missile that is effective for Ukrainians, because, as Collins assured, it has hardly any flaws. “That's why it's such a fabulous weapon, it has extremely high odds of succeeding because it's a superior attack weapon that hits the weakest point,” he added.*


*Editor's Note: These quotations, accurately translated, could not be verified.


Misil estadounidense antiblindado Javelin se convierte en el arma de la resistencia ucraniana

Al misil antiblindado Javelin el arma de la resistencia ucraniana contra la invasión rusa se le dedicó “una santa”, con un meme de María Magdalena con uno de estos proyectiles, y que se volvió viral en las redes sociales.

Después de la ocupación rusa de la península ucraniana de Crimea Estados Unidos ha suministrado 1,600 “sistemas antiblindados Javelin” a Ucrania, a los que se sumarán otros 2,000 anunciados a mediados de este mes, junto con 7,000 proyectiles antitanque de otros tipos.

Todo indica que hasta ahora están funcionando dado que, según EU y sus aliados, el avance de Rusia, que está utilizando carros blindados, se ha obstruido desde el inicio de la invasión el 24 de febrero gracias a la resistencia ucraniana.

“Simplemente, Javelin es el mejor sistema de misiles de EU y probablemente del mundo”, aseguró el coronel retirado Liam Collins, director ejecutivo del laboratorio de ideas Madison Policy Forum.

En sentido Collins evocó que en 2014 los tanques T-90 rusos que cruzaron la frontera en apoyo de los separatistas de la región ucraniana del Donbás eran “impenetrables” frente a las defensas antiblindados de las que disponían los ucranianos. “Es por eso que tuvimos que suministrarles (a los ucranianos) los Javelin, capaces de eliminar el tanque ruso más moderno, con la armadura más grande y que es reactiva, para dejarlos fuera de juego”, precisó.

Javelin, significa jabalina, es un misil considerado del tipo “dispara y olvida”, es decir, una vez que es lanzado, no necesita de ninguna guía adicional, ya sea la iluminación del objetivo o un cable, para golpear su blanco, ni que su lanzadera sea fija.

Siendo así que la persona que dispara este misil, que puede ser portado en el hombro, no está obligada a exponerse, tal cual sucedía con los proyectiles antitanques antiguos, que “debían permanecer bloqueados todo el tiempo con un cable pesado utilizado para guiar el misil”, señaló el coronel Collins.
Por su parte, Michael Patrick Mulroy, exsubsecretario adjunto de Defensa para Oriente Medio, especificó que los Javelin posibilitan a la persona que dispara “esconderse en una zanja, comenzar a correr o hacer lo que necesite para no morir, mientras el misil es rastreando con las imágenes infrarrojas”.
Javelin es ligero e impacta en el blanco desde arriba y no de manera lateral como otros misiles, por lo que impacta a los carros blindados directamente en su punto débil y esto lo puede hacer desde 4 kilómetros de distancia.
Mulroy, fundador del Instituto Lobo un marine retirado y exagente de operaciones paramilitares de la CIA, destacó otra cualidad: Cuesta unos 200,000 dólares frente a los cerca de 20 millones de dólares que puede valer un tanque de última generación.
Los Javelin son desarrollados y producidos por las empresas estadounidenses Lockheed Martin y Raytheon y han tomado mucha notoriedad gracias a un meme creado por el especialista en Márketing ucraniano-polaco-canadiense Christian Borys de “santa Javelin”, una María Magdalena portando este misil, y que se volvió viral en las últimas semanas.

Borys creó una página web en la que vende pegatinas y otros productos con la imagen de “santa Javelin” con el propósito de recaudar fondos para dar ayuda humanitaria a los ucranianos.
“Santa Javelin” es un homenaje a un misil que es efectivo para los ucranianos, porque, como Collins aseguró, apenas presenta defectos. “Es por eso que es un arma tan fabulosa, tiene probabilidades extremadamente altas de tener éxito porque es un arma de ataque superior que golpea el punto más débil”, añadió.
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