Exchange Rates
Taking something from an earlier post.
The recent announcement of a substantial purchase of additional Javelin missiles to replace stocks used in Afghanistan shows how the system has found increasing use.
A couple of things spring to mind, the Javelin is a highly sophisticated anti armour missile with either top attack or direct attack modes. At a reported unit cost for the missile of approximately £60-70k and with the self evident lack of Taleban armour it is not being used for its original role of destroying tanks and other armoured vehicles.
Now used as a long range precision means of attacking small units or even individuals up to a couple of thousand metres away. They may of course be of a high value in a local context and better a dead Taleban than a dead or injured infantryman.
It was reported that the Treasury asked the same questions and from a purely financial perspective it may seem poor value for money, the exchange rate being £70k for a $20 AK
But…
Is it a fair question to ask?
Is it a good rate of exchange?
Is there an alternative?
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You could call up Thales and ask them to design and manufacture a man launched variant of the Lightweight multirole missile, I’m not sure how difficult it would be. However if it can be launched from a Schiebel camcopter then I see no reason why it should not be easily converted to be launched from a Javelin type control unit by a man. Since this missile could be manufactured by the thousands and in the UK it should be nice and cheap as well as being a possible export success.
Before Javelin we used to use Milan in this role, its a lot to do with the optics / Thermal imagers and the range. It really is long range sniping, and because of the size of the warhead you don’t have to be that accurate to get a kill. Units carrying the Javelin will not always have the support of 81mm mortars, or have the comms to establish the fire mission, nor do we have a “precision guided” mortar round.
A “cheap” laser beam riding rocket, with the expense in the re-usable firing post (like Javelin) might fit Dominic’s suggestion / requirement ??
“Is it a fair question to ask?”
Yes
“Is it a good rate of exchange?
No, its a war losing rate of exchange
“Is there an alternative?”
There better had be
Some of you may remember I wrote a long winded ramble about why defence is wrongly funded, this is a perfect example.
A micro UAV costs about $10,000, a block of semtex and a bag of ball bearings/nails/nuts/bolts/washers costs $ a few hundred. Remote piloted air mine,
A Javelin costs $100,000.
The second is clearly better than the first, but the first would be good enough.
Would it really be that difficult to ring up BAE and say, we want an anti personel guided missile with a 3km range for £10k a pop.
It really doeasnt matter of it can be jammed by the Russians or the Chinese, because we arent using it against them.
It wont get an 18 month testing procedure in the American Desert or Canadian Wilderness, but we are at war, we dont have time.
Would it be cheaper to have an NCO in a light aircraft directing the mortar fire from the patrol, or calling in artilery fire?
At £70,000 a missile its probably worth looking into.
War is slightly more agressive than normal economics.