British troops in Afghanistan to get 100-mn-pound bunker-busting missiles

London, Nov. 15 (ANI): British troops in Afghanistan will soon be equipped with 1,300 bunker-busting missiles worth 100 million pounds.

The Eraser, a shoulder-launched Javelin, is believed to be ideal to use against fortified positions and mortar compounds, The Mirror reports.

The missile can be manoeuvred up and down, also during night, to fire straight at a target.

The Eraser identifies targets using thermal-imaging technology and delivers an explosive and precise punch.

Operated by a crew of two, it has a range of up to two miles and can be fired from enclosed spaces, providing protection for its crew.

"Javelin is invaluable. Its accuracy and firepower mean we are now able to handle many more situations on the ground ourselves and reduce the need to call in close air support," Capt Warren Marginson, of B Company, 3 Rifles said.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has demanded NATO forces to send 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister suggested one more surge was needed and then British forces could "start to come home".

Brown has promised 500 troops to reinforce the 9,000-strong British force. (ANI)