Ukrainian Troops Test-fire US-made Javelin Anti-tank Missile for First Time

Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko shared a video of US-made Javelin anti-tank missile being fired for the first time by Ukranian troops

This is the first time Ukraine has used an American-made missile system which was delivered to Kiev to help it to combat pro-Russian separatists.

"Today, for the first time in Ukraine, Javelin missile systems were launched. Thanks to them, the combat capabilities of the APU have increased significantly,” Poroshenko wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

“This is very effective defensive weaponry, which is used in the event of Russian offensive on the positions of Ukrainian troops,” he added.

The US Department, in March this year, approved sale of Javelin man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missiles and Javelin Command Launch Units (CLUs) worth $47 million to Ukraine.

Ukraine has requested to buy 210 Javelin Missiles and 37 Javelin Command Launch Units (CLUs) (includes two Javelin CLUs to be used as spares).

“The Ukrainian army is preparing to adopt the US-built advanced anti-tank missile system,” Viktor Muzhenko, chief of the general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had tweeted in January this year.

"The preparations for the use and the operation of the U.S. anti-tank missile systems ‘Javelin’ are already being held at the Ukrainian Armed Forces," he tweeted.

In Jaunary this year, Ukrainian media reported that the army will train operators of the Javelin in the base of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy in Lviv city in western Ukraine.

According to the online media portal Ukrainian Military Pages, after an English language course in the Ukrainian university, select personnel will be sent abroad to receive training in the combat use of the Javelin.

The advanced fire-and-forget portable anti-tank missile system can attack tanks from above. It also has the ability to attack low-altitude helicopters and fortifications.