The Javelin missile uses a dual charged warhead. The warhead has a precursor charge and main charge.
The precursor charge is a HE anti-tank shaped charge. Its purpose is to cause reactive armor on the target to detonate before the main charge reaches the armor. Once the reactive armor is penetrated, the target's main hull is exposed to the warhead's main charge. If the target is not equipped with reactive armor, the precursor provides additional explosives to penetrate the main armor.

The main charge is the second charge of a dual-charge warhead and is also an HE antitank shaped charge. The primary warhead charge is designed to penetrate the target's main armor to achieve a target kill.