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FGM-148 Javelin vs Spike LR2: how to tell them apart

Two anti-tank weapons that are easy to mix up at a glance. Here is what tells them apart.

FGM-148 Javelin, anti-tank weapon from USA

FGM-148 Javelin

Anti-tank weapon, USA. In service since 1996

What gives it away

Fat launch tube with a large boxy command launch unit sight attached to the side.

Used by

USA, UK, Ukraine, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania and others

Photo: U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK) from Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
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Spike LR2

Anti-tank weapon, Israel. In service since 2021

What gives it away

Missile canister clipped to a command-and-launch unit with a big boxy sight, fired from a tripod or the shoulder.

Used by

Denmark, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Finland, Israel and many others

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