You know it’s a good teardown when [Michel] starts off by saying to not ask him where exactly he got the guidance section of an FGM-148 Javelin from. This shoulder-launched anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is a true marvel of engineering that has shown its chops during recent world events. As a fire-and-forget type guided missile it is designed to use the internal IR tracker to maintain a constant lock on the target, using its guidance system to stay exactly on track.
FGM-148 Javelin schematic overview. (Source: U.S. Army, FM 3-22.37)
Initially designed in 1989 and introduced into service in 1996, it has all the ceramic-and-gold styling which one would expect from a military avionics package from the era. Tasked with processing the information from the IR sensor, and continuously adjusting the fins to keep it on course, the two sandwiched, 3 mm thick PCBs that form the main section of the guidance computer are complemented by what looks like a milled aluminium section which holds a sensor and a number of opamps, all retained within the carbon-fiber shell of the missile.
In the video [Michel] looks at the main components, finding datasheets for many commercially available parts, with the date codes on the parts confirming that it’s a late 80s to early 90s version, using presumably a TMS34010 as the main CPU on the DSP board for its additional graphics-related instructions. Even though current production FGM-148s are likely to use far more modern parts, this is a fun look at what was high-end military gear in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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