Tanks are hard vehicles to defeat. They have thick armour, sometimes – even additional reactive armour tiles. However, main battle tanks can be defeated by shoulder-fired missiles, such as the FGM-148 Javelin. Especially when it attacks in a top-down mode.
Ukrainian soldier with a Javelin anti-tank weapon. Image credit: АрміяInform via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)
The FGM-148 Javelin is an American man-portable anti-tank system in service since 1996. It is one of the most advanced mobile anti-tank missiles, mostly because it has been upgraded many times since its initial entry into service. It can defeat pretty much all of the modern main battle tanks in its top-down attack mode, which recently became a target for morbid curiosity because of the war in Ukraine.
The defenders of Ukraine use the Javelin anti-tank guns more than anyone in the world. No one can even estimate how many tanks and other armoured vehicles were destroyed using this particular gun. And Ukrainians are very grateful for their supply.
The key to Javelin’s success is its top-down attacks, which recently came back into the light after a video of Javelin destroying Russian armoured vehicles near Avdiivka has been published online:
Video of Javelin ATGM strikes on Russian vehicles near Avdiivka. https://t.co/H6ko2ZMW6M pic.twitter.com/LpQIGeQLM0
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) January 15, 2024
How do top-down attacks work? Well, one thing you need to know is that main battle tanks have very strong, thick armour on the front and sides of the hull. The turret, which is always the highest, most easily followed target, has the thickest armour.
But the tank’s armour is thinner at the top. This is a bit of a compromise. The limitation is weight and in order to increase the thickness of the armour in the most targeted areas, engineers need to make it thinner and lighter somewhere else.
The top armour was a logical choice, because most anti-tank weapons didn’t target it, unless in urban combat. And so the top portion of the hull is still the thinnest. In addition, there are hatches, which are also a bit weaker than the rest of the tank’s hull. How can you hit a tank from the top when you’re hiding in the trenches? That’s why modern anti-tank missiles have a top-down attack mode.
The Javelin missile rises high and then plunges down towards the target, trying to hit it right at the top where the armour is thinner. That is what you saw in the video. The Javelin is not the first nor the only anti-tank missile that can do that. The first top-attack anti-tank gun put into service was the Swedish Bofors RBS 56 BILL in 1988. Now there are many different anti-tank missiles that can perform a calculated top-down plunge.
By the way, it seems like the top-down attack missiles will not be the weapon that will force a fundamental change in tank construction. The defenders of Ukraine proved that top-down attacks can be performed by very cheap drones carrying even cheaper RPG projectiles.
Written by Povilas M.
Sources: OMEGA COMPANY Telegram, Wikipedia