Back to the Future: Javelins and Skirmishers on the Battlefield,

Abstract

The arrival of the JAVELIN fire-and-forget antitank missile can allow the combat units of the United States Army to maximize the effect of direct fires in tactical depth on the battlefield by employing skirmishers. Throughout history, successful armies have adopted forward-deployed missile systems as skirmishers to effectively harass, delay, and disrupt enemy formations. Cyclic trends in tactics and technology have caused us to replace skirmishers in current doctrine with indirect artillery, but with the advent of smart missiles for ground combat we should reinstate the skirmishers to their historically proper place on the battlefield.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA323568

Entities

People

  • James K. Morningstar

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anti-Tank Missiles
  • Armored Personnel Carriers
  • Armored Vehicles
  • Army
  • Artillery
  • Civil War
  • Fire And Forget Weapons
  • Guided Missiles
  • Indirect Fire
  • Military Organizations
  • Precision-Guided Munitions
  • Targets
  • United States
  • Vehicles
  • War
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military Science