Javelin F.(A.W.) Mk.9

Javelin F.(A.W.) Mk.9

Meteor F Mk 8 G.41K

Lightning F.6

Javelin F.(A.W.) Mk.9

Meteor F Mk 8 G.41K

Lightning F.6

Britain

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.3	8.3	8.7

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:135 000

Purchase:380 000

Show in game

Description

After the end of WWII, the British government outlined the threat of strategic jet bombers and their ability to deliver nuclear weapons. The threat reached a critical level during 1947, when the Soviet Union's first strategic jet bombers like the IL-28 were nearing introduction to service. This caused the Air Ministry to issue Specification F.44/66, requiring a jet-powered, two-seat night fighter with radar capability. This aircraft was required to intercept enemy bombers at heights of up to 40,000 feet. It would also have to reach a maximum straight-line speed of 972 km/h at this height, and be able to perform rapid scrambles and ascents to attain the required altitude within ten minutes of engine ignition on the ground. Out of all the competing aircraft for this specification requirement, the renowned Gloster Aircraft Company, whom had already made a name for themselves shortly before by creating the Meteor, Britain's only operational jet fighter during WWII, would present the Gloster Javelin, a high-power interceptor that fulfilled the requirements. This design beat out the competition from de Havilland and was chosen by the Air Ministry in the early '50s to enter service under the FAW (Fighter, All Weather) designation class.

Introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic", the Javelin builds upon gameplay principles found in the earlier Meteor family, while also introducing new concepts that will become commonplace in British fighter-interceptor aircraft later down the line, such as the Lightning F.6 and the Tornado F.3, namely the high engine power at the sacrifice of manoeuvrability compared to adversaries. The Javelin, while not having the best flight performance, makes up for it in its firepower, wielding the strength of not only the powerful ADEN 30 mm cannons, but also the Firestreak air-to-air missiles, and a strong radar system for its battle rating.

General info

Flight performance

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Max speed

at 100 m991 km/h

Turn time24 s

Max altitude15 000 m

EngineArmstrong Siddeley Sapphire Mk.209

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight58 t

The Javelin's key advantage is its dual afterburning engines which give it good acceleration and very good climb rate. It can (at lower altitudes) accelerate past 600 km/h in a 20° climb without issue. The Javelin also has a rather low top speed compared to other vehicles of the rank, when spaded it redlines at around 1,000 km/h and will rip soon after. It can and will rip its wings without going into a dive, so caution should be exercised when traveling in straight lines.

The Javelin also bleeds a tremendous amount of speed while turning, due to its massive wing area. This is somewhat offset by the powerful engines, which give the Javelin excellent acceleration and climb rate for the rank.

The Javelin does not compress heavily at higher speeds, but will rip if you try and turn tightly at high speed.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 100 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	974	964	15000	25.3	26.2	42.4	37.2	325
Upgraded	1,009	991		22.9	24.0	68.9	55.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1060	407	521	497	370	~8	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 720	< 600	< 620	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire Mk.209 (left) / Mk.210 (right)		2	14,403 kg		205 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)			Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		6m fuel	20m fuel	21m fuel
1,400 kg	Afterburning axial-flow turbojet		15,361 kg	17,399 kg	17,595 kg	18,415 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
Condition	100%	WEP	6m fuel	20m fuel	21m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	4,800 kgf	5,670 kgf	0.74	0.65	0.64	0.62
Optimal	4,800 kgf (0 km/h)	5,670 kgf (0 km/h)	0.74	0.65	0.64	0.62

Survivability and armour

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear407 km/h

The Javelin has no armour, and it is an extremely large aircraft. With the abundance of high calibre weapons at this rank, any hits will severely impact your ability to manoeuvre. Any damage to the wings or fuselage will severely hinder its ability to turn.

The engines and fuel tanks are scattered in the fuselage and the leading edges of the wings. Any shots taken there will either set you ablaze or knock out or damage an engine. Any shots to the tail are extremely likely to cut tail controls or remove the tail entirely.

If you lose a wing, the Javelin is able to fly and return to base with only one wing remaining.

Overall, the Javelin has extremely poor survivability. Any shot that you take, excluding American HMGs, have a significant likelihood of fatally damaging you, if not sending you straight back to the hangar.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 360 → 4 922

RB9 172 → 13 436

SB9 753 → 14 288

Total cost of modifications120 200

193 000

Talisman cost2 300

Crew training110 000

Experts380 000

Aces2 000

Research Aces830 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

130 / 380 / 600 %

208 / 208 / 208 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 440 Compressor Research: 6 800 Cost: 11 000 250 New boosters Research: 6 800 Cost: 11 000 250 Wings repair Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 360 Engine Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 360 G-suit Research: 13 000 Cost: 21 000 470	Airframe Research: 6 800 Cost: 11 000 250 EFS Research: 13 000 Cost: 21 000 470 Cover Research: 13 000 Cost: 21 000 470	aden_belt_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 440 Firestreak Research: 6 800 Cost: 11 000 250 aden_new_gun Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 360

You are going to want to focus on getting flight performance modifications first to make the Javelin more bearable to fly. The stock belts and ADEN cannons are very good so these upgrades can be left until last, the stock roll rate is also good so new boosters are not a necessity and you may wish to go for the higher tier engine upgrades first. The Firestreaks come down to personal preference; if you like missile gameplay then they can be effective, but they are far from the best missiles available in game. If you have never played with air to air missiles before or can't stand the stock offensive capabilities then you may wish to unlock them, but do not expect to be shooting down fighters in the middle of a dogfight with them. Learning when/where to use them, and in what circumstances they are likely to hit will take time.

Armaments

Suspended armament

List of setups (4)

Setup 14 x 30 mm ADEN cannon (ammunition: 800 rounds)

Setup 24 x 30 mm ADEN cannon (ammunition: 800 rounds)
2 x Firestreak air-to-air missiles

Setup 32 x 30 mm ADEN cannon (ammunition: 400 rounds)
4 x Firestreak air-to-air missiles

Setup 44 x 30 mm ADEN cannon (ammunition: 800 rounds)
4 x Firestreak air-to-air missiles

The Javelin F.(A.W.) Mk.9 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 4 x 30 mm ADEN cannons, wing-mounted (200 rpg = 800 total)
• 4 x 30 mm ADEN cannons + 2 x Firestreak missiles
• 2 x 30 mm ADEN cannons + 4 x Firestreak missiles

Usage in battles

As an aircraft the Javelin has many flaws and has picked up a fairly poor reputation, but once you get used to its quirks you can work around them and the Javelin can become an effective aircraft, which you can do well in. The Javelin's key advantage is its dual afterburning engines which give it good acceleration and very good climb rate; it can (at lower altitudes) accelerate past 600 km/h in a 20° climb without issue. As the Javelin has a fairly poor top speed (at least compared to some of the vehicles you can face), you will want to make use of the powerful engines and climb to a reasonable attitude quickly at the start of the match. In terms of climb profile your options are to either throw the Javelin in to a 10 - 20° climb straight off the runway, or build your speed (up to around 700 km/h), then enter the same sort of angle climb; the first option will get you to altitude in less distance, but you likely will not have much speed when you get there, on maps with room for it building speed first will give you more options. Your target altitude will vary depending on the situation, but typically you will want to be at at least 4,000 m, sometimes closer to 6,000 m on larger maps. Ultimately if an enemy fighter is above you in the Javelin and decides to dive on you, you're in for a bad time, you will likely not have the speed to out-run them in this scenario, and the Javelin's large size and somewhat lacking flight characteristics can make evasion tricky (and lead to you losing lots of energy); by climbing to a suitable altitude (depending on what the other team are doing) you can minimise the risk of this situation occurring.

Once at altitude you have two main options; you can either take up the role of bomber hunter, or set yourself up in a position to start diving down on enemy aircraft below you. The Javelin fits the role of bomber hunter fairly well, the search and tracking radars can be useful for finding bombers (although they suffer heavily from ground clutter) and the armament of four 30 mm cannons is more than capable of bringing down anything you face with one or two well aimed bursts. The Firestreak missiles also work well against bombers, which often do not have the manoeuvrability to evade them. A benefit of the radar, when coupled with missiles, is that if a target is locked then the locking cone for the missile will automatically follow the target, meaning you do not have to worry about pointing your plane straight at the target to get a missile lock. The Firestreaks can also be used against fighters, however they are not very manoeuvrable missiles so they can often be evaded by fighters fairly easily; they are best used a fairly short range, or if a target is flying in a straight line trying to outrun you.

The main drawbacks of the Javelin are the previously mentioned low top speed as well as it having terrible energy retention. The idea of turn fighting in the Javelin can be completely forgotten about in most circumstances; the turning circle is not great and attempting it will rapidly kill any speed / energy advantage you once had. Due to its poor energy retention, sudden movements in the Javelin should be avoided, where possible make large sweeping turns and gentle control inputs, in some situations even a brief hard rudder input can cost you a not insignificant chunk of speed.

Although the Javelin cannot generally out-run an enemy on pure speed alone there are cases where you can escape faster aircraft by exploiting the Javelin's excellent climb performance. While many aircraft have a higher top speed than the Javelin, not many can hold speed in a climb quite as well as a Javelin. This works best at low altitude and ideally needs to be done before the enemy can get within firing range. While travelling near your top speed open up the throttles to max and enter a climb; the Javelin will hold its top speed in a 10° climb all day, depending on what is chasing you this may be enough to stop them catching you, if not a 20° climb can be held for some time and even a 30° or more climb can be used for short periods of time if needed. This tactic will not work against all aircraft but many will bleed speed much quicker than the Javelin in a climb (particularly ones approaching 20 degrees) and often start falling behind you leading to the enemy player giving up and finding someone else to engage.

Another annoyance with the Javelin is the gun placement: quite far apart in the wings. The means that you have to take convergence into account and gives you less flexibility in terms of engagement range than nose-mounted guns, it also makes head on attacks a very risky proposition.

One more thing to be aware of with the Javelin (particularly at higher altitudes) is that once you reach your top speed you often do not need to use afterburner or even full throttle to maintain it in level flight. Depending on altitude you can maintain a speed near your top speed with 90% throttle or less, this can be useful for saving fuel or cooling the engines (not that the latter is necessary most of the time), if you don't want maxed out speed even a throttle setting as low as 75% can maintain a decent cruising speed.

Specific enemies worth noting

• MiG-15 Family: able to catch you in a straight line, good climb, potent armament.
• F-86 Family: able to catch you in a straight line, potent armament.
• G.91 Family: able to catch you in a straight line, some with potent armament, good climb.

Radars

The Javelin F.(A.W.) Mk.9 is equipped with an AN/APS-21 search radar, as well as an AN/APG-26 target tracking radar. Both radars are located in the nose of the aircraft.

AN/APS-21 - Target Detection Radar
Maximum Detection Range	Guaranteed Detection Range	Max Azimuth Scan Angle	Max Elevation Scan Angle
45,000 m	28,000 m	±85°	±16°
AN/APG-26 - Target Tracking Radar
Maximum Tracking Range	Minimum Tracking Range	Azimuth Tracking Angle	Elevation Tracking Angle
4,000 m	150 m	±60°	±60°

Pros and cons

Pros:

• More manoeuvrable than some other jets and has very good roll rate
• Good acceleration
• Fast plane at higher altitudes
• Is equipped with the AN/APS-21 target detection radar, as well having an AN/APG-26 tracking radar
• Can use afterburner (WEP) for very long periods of time without overheating engines
• Effective air-to-air missiles

Cons:

• Relatively low top speed at low altitudes
• Big target
• Pulling negative G cuts out engines due to fuel starvation
• Convergence is important (guns are far apart)
• Extremely poor energy retention
• Anything more than slight damage to wings causes massive loss in speed and lift
• Can push past its wing break speed at sea level while at 100% throttle

History

Gloster Javelin was the UK's first interceptor to use anti-air missiles and the first jet all-weather and night fighter specifically designed for that purpose. It went through a very convoluted development history, with a number of versions introduced between 1954 and 1959, only to be replaced by the Electric Lightning from 1961 onwards. To this day it's the western fighter with the largest wing area, featuring a massive 86.1 m² wing (comparing to 44.08 m² of the Lightning, 52.8 m² of the Ho 229 V3 or 43 m² of the F-35).

Gloster Javelin FAW Mk 9 was a conversion of the FAW 7, with airplanes delivered between December 1959 and December 1961. The primary goal of the modernization effort was to improve the flight characteristics, most notably through the upgrade to the powerplant. Changes included:

• Engines with added afterburner for a maximum thrust of 12,300 lbf (11,000 lb without afterburner)
• Modified wings and extended jet pipes
• Increased maximum take-off weight (43,165 kg from 40,270 of the predecessor)
• Lower maximum speed (610 knots at Sea Level vs 616 in FAW 7, Mach 0.93 vs 0.95)

In total 116 fighters were converted to the FAW 9 version, 44 of which were further modified into the flight refueling version (FAW 9F/R) which features an added refueling probe and other related subsystems.

The first fighter squadron to receive deliveries of the Gloster Javelin in 1956 was the RAF Squadron No. 46 based in Hampshire, south England. The last one was the No. 60 Squadron, which was disbanded in 1968, where the FAW 9 and 9R fighters served at the Tengah Air Base in Singapore.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Javelin F.(A.W.) Mk.9 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Development] Javelin F.A.W Mk 9 - Delta Defender (Forum)
• Official data sheet - more details about the performance