April 27 (UPI) — President Joe Biden announced Wednesday he will visit the Lockheed Martin plant in Alabama next week to see Javelin anti-tank missiles and other weapons being supplied to Ukraine for its fight against Russia.
Lockheed Martin announced Biden will head to Troy, Ala., on Tuesday. The aerospace defense contractor also has plants in Huntsville, Anniston and Enterprise.
“Lockheed Martin is proud to support our customers and we welcome President Biden to our Troy facility,” the company tweeted.
.@LockheedMartin is proud to support our customers and we welcome President Biden to our Troy facility. https://t.co/4GDxG2TljY— Lockheed Martin News (@lmnews) April 27, 2022
Lockheed Martin is the world’s largest defense contractor and manufactures the Javelin weapon system, a portable anti-tank missile system that allows soldiers to move toward an enemy.
After launch, the Javelin automatically guides itself to the intended target, allowing the gunner to take cover and avoid counterfire.
The Javelin missile, currently being used in Ukraine, is a joint venture for Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
Lockheed made its first deliveries of the new Javelin FGM-148F, featuring an advanced multipurpose warhead, in 2020.
“The MPWH incorporates the latest generation shaped charged technology to defeat present and future advanced armored threats while adding a fragmenting steel warhead case to significantly improve lethality against soft targets and light armored vehicles,” Lockheed Martin said.
The Javelin missile was first deployed in 1996 and was used extensively by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.