Top 10 Anti-Tank Missiles: Range and Cost Compared

A single range figure says surprisingly little about an anti-tank guided missile. Variant, launch platform and guidance method change what a system can actually do, while published costs often come from entirely different types of contract. Which weapon combines documented combat effect with broad adoption? Where does comparison break down between an infantry system and an air-launched missile?

The ten systems are ordered by documented combat effect and how widely the current generation is fielded; the role as an infantry weapon and source quality decide ties. The table below compares range and documented costs.

What is an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM)?

ATGM stands for anti-tank guided missile. It describes a guided missile system developed to engage armoured vehicles. The phrase “ATGM missile” is common but duplicates the word missile; “anti-tank weapon” is broader and can also cover unguided or non-missile systems.

The systems differ in launch platform, seeker or command link, documented range and generation. Javelin, SPIKE LR2 and HJ-12 are associated with fire-and-forget guidance; Kornet, TOW, Stugna-P and Metis-M1 use different command-guidance concepts.

Which system is the best ATGM?

No ATGM is universally best. Javelin reaches up to four kilometres and uses an imaging infrared seeker. SPIKE LR2 combines a 5.5-kilometre ground-launched range with an electro-optical seeker and data link. Kornet-EM reaches eight kilometres with its designated anti-tank round but uses a different form of guidance.

The other systems fill different envelopes as well: NLAW covers 20 to 800 metres, TOW 2B Aero reaches 4.5 kilometres, and the air-launched Brimstone 2 exceeds 40 kilometres. Each range belongs to the named variant and launch platform.

Ten anti-tank guided weapons compared

“Public since” gives an official service date, a manufacturer delivery reference or a public debut, depending on the system. Converted dollar figures are marked with ≈; the original amounts appear in each system section.

1. FGM-148 Javelin

For the US think tank CSIS, the Javelin became the icon of the war in Ukraine in 2022. By April 2022, the United States alone had delivered around 7,000. It was also the first man-portable fire-and-forget guided missile in service with US ground troops. It sits at the top as the only weapon here that is both a war icon and a series product with more than 50,000 missiles. The U.S. Army fielded Javelin in 1996, replacing the wire-guided Dragon. Its imaging infrared seeker enables fire-and-forget guidance. In 2022, Lockheed Martin wrote that Javelin “offers fire-and-forget capability […] up to 4 kilometers” under most operational conditions; earlier versions have a shorter range. The manufacturing joint venture counted more than 50,000 missiles and over 12,000 launch units produced by 2022, and CSIS names 21 operator nations.

The Army PB2027 budget records 300 complete missiles (All Up Rounds) at $236,000 each for fiscal year 2025. A separate Lockheed contract announced in 2022 includes missiles, equipment and services but no separate unit price.

2. SPIKE LR2

Rafael says it has delivered more than 40,000 missiles of the SPIKE family. The SPIKE LR2 is its newest member. The 2024 Rafael data sheet lists 34 user nations. Second place reflects that broad modern spread, behind Javelin's still more visible war record. Rafael publicly unveiled SPIKE LR2 in 2017. The 2024 manufacturer data sheet gives a ground-launched range of 5.5 km, along with an electro-optical seeker and a data link. The Bundeswehr also builds on this line: in 2024 it ordered LR2 missiles for its MELLS system worth around 700 million euros in total, produced by EuroSpike in Germany.

There is no public unit price for the LR2. The Bundeswehr put one round of its MELLS system, a member of the same SPIKE family, at about €100,000 in 2024; that MELLS figure is not an LR2 unit price.

3. NLAW

In the spring of 2022, the NLAW was the most numerous advanced anti-tank guided missile in Ukraine. Britain alone had delivered 3,615 units by 9 March 2022. The first 2,000 of them arrived before the war began. That officially documented quantity earns third place. NLAW was developed by Saab for Sweden and the United Kingdom; a Saab delivery announcement cites a 2009 delivery to Finland. The UK Ministry of Defence publishes a range of 20 to 800 metres. Saab describes it as the only system able to engage a main battle tank from as little as 20 metres (manufacturer claim). NLAW uses a guidance method known as predicted line of sight; more than 24,200 units have been produced in total.

The 2022 British agreement covers several thousand units for £229 million, with deliveries from 2024 through 2026. Because the exact quantity remains unpublished, no reliable unit price is known.

4. Kornet-E and Kornet-EM

In Iraq in 2003, US accounts credited the Kornet with knocking out western tanks: at least two Abrams were disabled in the opening week, though the attribution remained disputed. That reported combat effect earns fourth place. Many Kornet figures, moreover, come from the exporter itself. Kornet-E covers 100 to 5,500 metres by day. The designated anti-tank round for Kornet-EM covers 150 to 8,000 metres. The frequently repeated ten-kilometre figure applies to the thermobaric variant, not the anti-tank round; the penetration figure of 1,100 to 1,300 millimetres behind reactive armour is the exporter's own claim.

A 2019 export contract reported by TASS was worth $39.7 million but disclosed no quantity. No reliable public unit price is therefore available.

5. TOW 2B Aero

The manufacturer has delivered over 700,000 TOW systems to more than 40 armed forces. That makes the TOW one of the most widely used and longest-serving anti-tank guided missiles. Its older missile generation puts it in fifth place, behind the more modern Kornet. Its combat debut lies far back: on 2 May 1972, US helicopters firing TOW missiles destroyed North Vietnamese tanks near Kontum. A U.S. Army development timeline dates the Aero variant to 2004. The Weapon Systems Handbook gives TOW 2B Aero a range of 4,500 metres; the name denotes tube launch, optical tracking and a command link. In US service, the TOW is planned to remain in use beyond 2050, according to the manufacturer.

The Army PB2026 budget records 420 TOW 2B Aero missiles at $156,210 each for fiscal year 2025. This is a budget unit cost, not a standing manufacturer price list.

6. Akeron MP

MBDA calls the Akeron MP the only combat-proven fifth-generation missile system in service (manufacturer's claim). France officially documents its deployment and its role replacing four earlier systems. That earns sixth place; the planned numbers are too small for more. France's Ministry of the Armed Forces lists it as the successor to four systems at once: Milan, Javelin, Hot and Eryx. It first deployed the missile to the Sahel in December 2018. Military planning provided for 1,950 missiles for the army by 2025. Akeron MP, formerly MMP, entered service in 2017. A 2024 MBDA contract announcement cites a range of at least four kilometres. Like SPIKE LR2, Akeron MP combines an electro-optical seeker with a data link; in 2025, Sweden also chose the system.

A French National Assembly budget opinion gives €197,800 per munition, at January 2018 prices. A later MBDA order combines Akeron MP and Mistral without stating a separate unit price for either system.

7. HJ-12

The HJ-12 is China's first man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile with a top-attack profile. Much of the evidence comes from Chinese state and manufacturer sources, and independent confirmation stays thin. That means seventh place. An HJ-12 model was first shown publicly in 2014, followed by the first known export in 2020, with the customer never officially named. The government-affiliated UAE defence journal Al Jundi reports 75 to 4,000 metres; the combined infrared and television seeker appears in the standard system profiles. Chinese state media confirmed in 2021 that the People's Liberation Army had introduced the system, after an exercise debut in Tibet. The circulating penetration figure of 1,100 millimetres behind reactive armour remains a Chinese or estimated claim.

Al Jundi estimated the production cost at $7,000 for the missile and about $18,000 for the system; the piece carries no publication date. This is neither a Norinco quotation nor a documented procurement price. Janes explicitly says that contract value and export quantity were not disclosed.

8. Brimstone 2

The UK Ministry of Defence called the Brimstone a key weapon against Daesh in 2016. RAF leadership and the manufacturer reported success rates above 98 per cent for the 2011 Libya campaign. It ranks no higher only because it is not an infantry weapon; it needs an aircraft. That makes eighth place. Unlike the portable systems, Brimstone 2 is an air-launched precision weapon for several target classes, including armoured vehicles. The ministry announced its entry into service in 2016. CSIS Missile Threat reported in 2024 that Brimstone 2 exceeds 40 kilometres and lists a platform-dependent band of 40 to 60 kilometres; both figures refer to air launch. Germany signed a framework contract in 2024 for up to 3,266 Brimstone 3 for the Eurofighter, with deliveries from 2028 and final assembly in Schrobenhausen.

A 2012 parliamentary submission gave a historical figure of £175,000. Answering a later question, the UK ministry said in 2023 that the current unit cost was withheld for commercial and operational reasons.

9. Stugna-P / Skif

On 5 April 2022, Ukrainian troops filmed a Stugna-P downing a Russian Ka-52 helicopter. The video spread around the world. That documented success for the Ukrainian home-grown design earns ninth place. Stugna-P is the Ukrainian designation, while Skif is used for the export configuration. The Luch product page distinguishes its rounds. RK-2S reaches 5,000 metres by day and RK-2M reaches 5,500 metres; at night the manufacturer gives 3,000 metres for both. Guidance is semi-automatic and laser-based. The system was an export success even before the war. The head of manufacturer Luch put a 2021 Algerian contract for a few thousand missiles at around 50 million US dollars. The improved Skif-M went to the Ukrainian armed forces in September 2023.

Luch does not publish a list price. Defense Express estimated an export price of about $20,000 per missile in 2026. That amount comes second hand; the manufacturer publishes the range figures itself.

10. Metis-M1

The Metis-M1 is built for anti-tank work at company level and weighs around 23 kilograms ready to fire (exporter's figure). The system lacks two things: fire-and-forget and a recent independent procurement record. That brings up the rear. Metis-M1 covers 80 to 2,000 metres and uses semi-automatic line-of-sight guidance with a wire link; it is not a fire-and-forget system. Its predecessor Metis-M was used against Israeli tanks in the 2006 Lebanon war, and the Russian defence ministry brought the M1 version into service in March 2015, reporting further deliveries in 2016. No independently confirmed production or procurement record from recent years exists.

Neither the manufacturer nor any budget document publishes a unit cost. A 2019 export-cost estimate of about $15,500 circulates publicly, but it is not a documented quotation.

Akeron MP vs Javelin: what is different?

These two western four-kilometre systems are the ones most often compared directly. Akeron MP reaches at least four kilometres and combines an electro-optical seeker with a data link. Javelin reaches up to four kilometres under most operational conditions; its imaging infrared seeker enables fire-and-forget guidance. The Akeron crew can remain involved through the data link, whereas Javelin requires no further guidance after launch.

The French figure for Akeron MP is €197,800 per munition at January 2018 prices. For Javelin, the U.S. Army budget records $236,000 per complete missile in fiscal year 2025. They are official figures from different years, currencies and procurement systems, not current manufacturer quotations.

How is an anti-tank missile different from a cruise missile?

People searching for anti-tank missiles often come across Taurus and Tomahawk. Both belong to a different class, though. An anti-tank guided weapon is built to engage armoured vehicles in direct combat. A cruise missile covers hundreds of kilometres to reach land or maritime targets. The two share only the broad label “missile”; task, platform, range class and flight profile are fundamentally different.

MBDA lists Taurus KEPD 350E as a deep-strike system with a range above 500 kilometres. The U.S. Navy describes Tomahawk as a long-range subsonic cruise missile and gives 1,600 kilometres for Block IV/V. Taurus and Tomahawk are cruise missiles, not ATGMs.

How do RC tanks simulate armoured combat?

Anyone drawn to these originals meets their technology again in model form. In Torro RC tanks, infrared battle systems simulate a hit without a projectile, while BB systems launch small plastic pellets. The guide RC tanks: BB or IR? compares both model technologies; suitable vehicles are collected in the RC tanks category.

For contactless hit detection, the shop provides the RC tanks with an IR battle system category.

Models with a visible firing function are grouped under RC tanks with a BB firing system.

What questions are frequently asked about anti-tank missiles?

Sources

The range and cost figures come from the following publicly accessible sources. Estimates are labelled next to the amount; penetration figures and operational detail are not part of the comparison.

• U.S. Army budget PB2027 and PB2026: unit costs and procurement quantities for Javelin and TOW 2B Aero
• U.S. Army, the Army AL&T chronicle and the Weapon Systems Handbook: service dates and TOW range
• Lockheed Martin: 2022 Javelin framework contract
• Rafael data sheet 2024: SPIKE LR2 range
• Bundeswehr: per-shot cost of the MELLS system
• Saab and the UK Ministry of Defence: NLAW delivery, range and the 2022 contract
• Royal Air Force service announcement, CSIS Missile Threat, a 2012 parliamentary record and a 2023 parliamentary answer and an MBDA/EADS release on the Libya success rate: Brimstone 2
• MBDA, the MBDA order announcement 2024 and a French budget review: Akeron MP
• Janes and Al Jundi: HJ-12
• IRS yearly average exchange rates (euro 2024, pound 2022) and US Federal Reserve G.5A for 2018 and G.5A for 2012: basis of the dollar conversion
• Rosoboronexport: Kornet-E, Kornet-EM and Metis-M1: Russian manufacturer figures; TASS: the 2019 Kornet export contract; the English Wikipedia: Metis-M1 export estimate
• Luch and Defense Express: Stugna-P/Skif
• Profile additions (significance facts): CSIS on Javelin and NLAW in Ukraine, CSIS Missile Threat on Javelin, the UK defence secretary's Commons statement of 9 March 2022, RTX on the TOW, Saab on the NLAW, France's Ministry of the Armed Forces on Akeron MP, Defence Industry Europe on the Swedish contract, hartpunkt on the MELLS LR2 order, hartpunkt on the Brimstone 3 framework contract, Globes on SPIKE delivery numbers, Global Times (Chinese state media) on the HJ-12 entering service, the Wikipedia profiles NLAW, 9M133 Kornet, BGM-71 TOW and HJ-12, plus Defense Express on the Ka-52 shoot-down, Defense Express on the Algerian export and Army Recognition on the 2016 Metis-M1 deliveries