Javelin against soft targets - Question

[Euri]

I have never seen how a javelin works in real life. I understand however that this is a heatseeking fire and forget missile. The soldier locks the heat signal and fires. Then the missile attacks the signal. This is understandable against tanks and vehicles.

In the game however I can use Javelins against soft tagets as well (i.e. building or even troops in trenches). On the one hand this makes the game ridiculously easy for US even in elite level. Scout, locate, fire javelin, the end...

My question is, does this tactic work in real life too? I mean, what kind of heat signal does a squad of 3-5 men in a trench or building have which would allow a succesfull javelin attack.

Thank you

[flamingknives]

The seeker on the javelin is imaging infrared, so it's like a standard camera except that it sees in infrared. It seeks its target via pattern recognition so a target need not have a specific shape or signature, but the missile must be able to see it before launch, so it has something to lock on to.

[YankeeDog]

I'm no expert, but AIUI, the javelin has a very sophisticated image-tracking guidance system, that allows it to "recognize" and lock on to an image, and then track it independent of user input.

Most often, of course, said image is an enemy vehicle, but it doesn't have to be. The thermal imaging system is apparently capable of distguishing temperature variation of only a few degrees, so the missile's guidance system can lock on to even slightly contrasting terrain elements -- a small building, a rock outcrop, etc. Differential heating usually means there is a temperature difference of at least few degrees between, say a concrete building and the surrounding asphalt; different substances absorb and re-emit heat at different rates.

So, from what I have heard the high accuracy of the Javelin in the game, even against soft targets, seems accurate. The effects of a hit are another matter. . . while the Javelin's warheads is a respectable size, it does not carry a frangible metal casing like an anti-personnel mortar bomb or artillery shell does, and is in any event the Javelin warhead a tandem shaped charge, optimized for penetrating armor. So its effects against, say, troops lying prone in the open wouldn't be that great IRL.

It would be more effective against something like troops inside a building, where the enclosed environment might increase the effects of the penetration stream, and environmental objects such as the wall near the impact site might provide secondary projectiles.

Cheers,

YD

[JasonC]

It is not heat seeking. It is optically guided using light in the infrared band. It does not home on the hottest source as a true heat seeker does. Instead it homes on the image centerpoint the crosshair was on as the moment the trigger was pulled. It does so by recognizing sight-picture "drift" in the infrared image it receives, and correcting its tail fins to steer the received image back to the image centerpoint at the time of firing.

[SgtMuhammed]

I'm not sure if they still work this way but when I played around with them in the late 90's you looked through the CLU to identify your target. Then you placed a ste of brackets around the desired target and locked them in (the controller is a lot like the one you find on a video game). Then you just fire and get the hell out. Like Jason said, it doesn't seek the target's heat but rather sees the target in infra-red and homes in on that image.