Missiles from Thales, Raytheon and Lockheed slow down Russian tanks

They are called NLAW, Javelin o Stinger, missiles that have become the main weapon of the Ukrainians to stop the advance of the battle tanks that Vladimir Putin has sent. The military industry is working at full capacity and the stock price of the largest arms manufacturers has risen sharply in the last two weeks.

Belfasta discreet city in British Ireland, is known for having given birth in its shipyards to the HMS Titanic and, lately, for the cinematographic tribute that Kenneth Branagh has dedicated to him. However, she is also beginning to be known for her role in the war in Ukraine, despite the 2,700 kilometers that separate her from that country.

Of the facilities that the French firm Thales Air Defence In Belfast, some of the so-called anti-tank missiles that soldiers and civilians carry on their shoulders to fire at Russian tanks would have come out. Its about New Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon (NLAW).

According to the Northern Irish newspaper The Irish Newsit would be the modern version of the bazooka of the Second World War”, in the words of Tim Ripley, an expert in the military industry, who told BBC Radio Ulster on February 28 that 2,000 of those NLAW would have arrived in Ukraine from the United Kingdom.

And what is a weapon like this for? “Russian tanks have a lot of extra thick armor around the fronts and sides, so being able to attack the weak top armor it’s a new feature that’s proving to be quite effective,” Ripley told British radio.

In its production, Thales is not alone, but has the Swedish company Saab for its design and technological development: an Anglo-Swedish joint venture that started around 2002. “The system, flameproof and transportable by man, can be deployed in about five seconds by a single soldier, day or night,” he says. the Scandinavian company on its website. 20-800m combat range and a single form charge, the NLAW is the best anti-tank weapon for infantry and dismounted troops in complex terrain.”

However, another Northern Ireland newspaper, in this case The News Letter, questioned at the end of February that these missile launchers were still manufactured in the capital of Ulster. “The Thales missile factory in East Belfast has definitely built them in recent years, although no one from Thales, the Ministry of Defense or [el sindicato] Unite the Union was able to say whether production of the weapon still continues at the city factory to this day,” the newspaper noted.

Likewise, the newspaper recalled that Görgen Johansson, a former director of Saab Dynamics, had stated in 2017 that the Swedish company “had been considering alternative places to make the weapon”. A weapon used by the British and Swedish armies, which weighs around 12.5 kilos, whose missile is 150 millimeters and has an explosive charge of 1.8 kilos.

On January 17, Ben Wallace, the UK Secretary of State for Defense, announced in the House of Commons that Her Majesty’s Government would “provide a new security aid package to increase defensive capabilities Ukraine.” And as Illia Ponomarenko, a reporter for the English-language daily The Kiev Independent“On the night of January 17, two Royal Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport planes were seen bound for Kiev – and presumably carrying promised aid.”

american missile launcher

The military industry is experiencing its particular peak season, and investors have flocked to buy actions of the main arms producers. Thales shares have risen 36% on the stock market since the Russian invasion on February 24; Lockheed Martin shares have rallied 21%; those of BAE Systems, 19%; those of General Dynamics, 16%, and those of Raytheon, 9% in the same period.

“The United States and its allies are sending weapons, such as Javelin anti-tank missiles, made by a joint venture of Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin. Raytheon also manufactures the Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that are being supplied to Ukraine.” The Wall Street Journal On March 1. From the Murdoch family diary they added that “missile production has increased in the last two years to replenish stocks in the United States and meet demand abroad.”

The Javelin is a medium range weapon that can shoot effectively up to 2,500 meters and is used by specialized anti-tank platoons, they explain on the website of Forces, medium specializing in the British armed forces and the military industry. As they point out, it would take two people to use this missile launcher, one as a shooter and the other as a charger for the 127-millimeter HEAT missile.

“In January, the United States handed over $200 million worth of weapons to Ukraine, including 300 Javelins,” reports Nikkei Asia in a March 2 article. “During the mandate of President Barack Obama -adds the Japanese media-, the United States did not supply Javelin to Ukraine when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014; but with the president Donald TrumpWashington changed course and decided to equip Ukraine with weapons.”