The is a Japanese man-portable
fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget is a type of missile guidance which does not require further external intervention after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the targ ...
anti-tank missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
. Development began in 1993 at
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
(or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Chūō, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It ...
and was accepted into service in 2001. During development, the missile was designated with the codename XATM-5.
Later it was known briefly as the: ATM-5.
In the
1st Airborne Brigade, it is used as its main anti-armor weapon.
History
As a replacement was needed for the
Sumitomo FT-84 recoilless rifle in front-line service with the
Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces,
plans to replace it with an
Infrared homing
Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is ra ...
anti-tank missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
was commissioned by the
Defense Agency's ''Technical Research and Development Institute''. In 1993,
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
(or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Chūō, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It ...
was selected to create the said
anti-tank missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
system. In trials conducted by the
JGSDF, the system was known as the XATM-5. The system was created in the same year with live testing in 1996.
Requirements for the system included portability, usage by a single soldier and design-to-cost technology.
In 2001, after 11 years, it was finally placed into service with the
Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces as the Type 01 LMAT which translates from Japanese to ''Type 01 light anti-tank guided missile''. A report filed by the Ministry of Defense in 2005 called for acquisition of an unknown number of 01 LMAT missile systems among various military items purchased from Kawasaki Heavy Industries for 129,700,000,000 Yen.
Design
This weapon employs a sophisticated Command Launch Unit (CLU) that is re-loaded for multiple firings. It is not of the disposable (one-shot) type.
The LMAT's missile warhead is tandem HEAT, its two-stage warhead making it effective against
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Com ...
protected vehicles.
Application
The Type 01 LMAT, while used for infantry in anti-tank roles, can be mounted on the
Komatsu LAV
The is a Japanese military vehicle first produced in 2002. Currently used exclusively by the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF), it has seen use in the Iraq War. It is built by Komatsu Ltd. Defense Systems Division in Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan. Ko ...
for a mobile anti-tank platform.
Operators
*: 1073 Sets (2010)
Similar weapons
*
9M133 Kornet
The 9M133 Kornet (russian: Корнет; "Cornet", NATO reporting name AT-14 Spriggan, export designation Kornet-E) is a Russian man-portable anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) intended for use against main battle tanks. It was first introduced i ...
*
FGM-148 Javelin
The FGM-148 Javelin, or Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium (AAWS-M), is an American-made portable anti-tank missile system in service since 1996, and continuously upgraded. It replaced the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile in US service. Its fi ...
*
HJ-12
The Hongjian-12 () is a third generation, man-portable, fire-and-forget infrared homing anti-tank missile of China. It was unveiled at the Eurosatory 2014 exhibition.
History
The missile was first showcased on the Eurosatory 2014 exhibition. ...
*
Missile Moyenne Portée
The Akeron MP (''Akeron Moyenne Portée''),
* Fire-and-Forget
* Man In The Loop with optical fiber data-link
* Lock-on after launch (LOAL) for non-line-of-sight (NLOS) and using third party target designation.
Despite these new features, it ...
*
MPATGM
*
OMTAS
*
Spike-MR/LR
See also
*
Type 64 MAT
The is a Japanese wire-guided anti-tank missile developed during the late 1950s. The missile is a broadly similar to the Swiss/German Cobra and the 9M14 Malyutka. Within the JGSDF, it is also known as 64MAT and KAM-3.
History
Development of ...
*
Type 79 Jyu-MAT
The is a Japanese SACLOS guided anti-tank missile that entered service with the JGSDF in 1984. It was initially issued to coastal defence units, intended to destroy troop and vehicle landing ships as they approached the shoreline. It is also kno ...
*
Type 87 Chu-MAT
References
Notes
* ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991,
External links
Official JGSDF PageType 01 LAMAT vs FGM-48 JAVELIN high quality video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Type 01 Lmat
Post–Cold War anti-tank missiles of Japan
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
Military equipment introduced in the 2000s
Fire-and-forget weapons
Kawasaki Heavy Industries