AGM-114 Hellfire
| AGM-114 Hellfire | |
|---|---|
 A model of a Hellfire's components |
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| Type | Air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 100–108lb (45.4–49kg)[1] |
| Length | 64 in (163 cm) |
| Diameter | 7 in (17.8 cm) |
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| Warhead | High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT); 20 lb (9 kg) tandem anti-armor Metal augmented charge (MAC); 18 lb (8 kg) shaped-charge Blast Fragmentation |
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| Engine | Solid-fuel rocket |
| Wingspan | 13 in (33 cm) |
| Operational range |
546 yd – 5 mi (500 m – 8 km) |
| Speed | Mach 1.3 (950 mph; 425 m/s) |
| Guidance system |
Semi-active laser homing millimeter wave radar seeker |
| Launch platform |
Rotary- and fixed-wing platforms, Unmanned combat air vehicles, tripods, ships, and ground vehicles |
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile, developed primarily for anti-armor use. It can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. It has multi-mission, and multi-target precision-strike capability. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100 lb-class air-to-ground precision weapon for the armed forces of the United States and many other nations. The HELLFIRE name comes from its original intention as a helicopter-launched fire-and-forget weapon (HELicopter Launched FIRE-and-forget). This is a reference to a Biblical concept of punishment after death.
The AGM-114 Hellfire is a combat-proven tactical missile system. The missile has been in combat use since the mid-1980s.
Description
The Hellfire today is a comprehensive weapon system, one that can be deployed from rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, naval assets, and land-based systems against a variety of targets.
The development of the Hellfire Missile System began in 1974 with the U.S. Army requirement for a "tank-buster", launched from helicopters to defeat armored fighting vehicles.[2][3] Production of the AGM-114A started in 1982. The Development Test and Evaluation (DT&E) launch phase of the AGM-114B took place in 1984. The DT&E on the AGM-114K was completed in Fiscal Year (FY)93 and FY94. AGM-114M did not require a DT&E because it is the same as the AGM-114K except for the warhead. Most variants variants are laser guided with one, AGM-114L, being radar guided.
The Hellfire II, developed in the early 1990s is a modular missile system with several variants for maximum battlefield flexibility. Hellfire II's semi-active laser variants—AGM-114K high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), AGM-114KII with external blast frag sleeve, AGM-114M (blast fragmentation), and AGM-114N metal augmented charge (MAC)—achieve pinpoint accuracy by homing in on a reflected laser beam aimed at the target from the launching platform. Predator and Reaper UCAVs carry the Hellfire II, but the most common platform is the AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship, which can carry up to 16 of the missiles at once. The AGM-114L, or Longbow Hellfire, is a fire-and-forget weapon: equipped with a millimeter wave (MMW) radar seeker, it requires no further guidance after launch and can hit its target without the launcher being in line of sight of the target. It also provides capability in adverse weather and battlefield obscurants. Each Hellfire weighs 47 kg / 106 pounds, including the 9 kg / 20 pound warhead, and has a range of 8,000 meters. As of late 2007, some 21,000 Hellfire IIs have been built since 1990, at a cost of about $68,000 each.
The Joint Common Missile (JCM) was to replace Hellfire II (along with the AGM-65 Maverick) by around 2011. The JCM was developed with a tri-mode seeker and a multi-purpose warhead that would combine the capabilities of the several Hellfire variants. In the budget for FY2006, the U.S. Department of Defense canceled a number of projects that they felt no longer warranted continuation based on their cost effectiveness, including the JCM. A possible new JCM successor called the Joint Air to Ground Missile (JAGM) is under consideration. Due to the U.S. military's continuing need for a proven precision-strike aviation weapon in the interim until a successor to the JCM is fielded, as well as extensive foreign sales, it is likely the Hellfire will continue to remain in service for many years to come.
Combat history
Since being fielded, Hellfire missiles have proven their effectiveness in combat in Operation Just Cause in Panama, Operation Desert Storm in Persian Gulf, Operation Allied Force in Yugoslavia, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and most recently, Operation Iraqi Freedom—where they have been fired successfully from Apache and Cobra attack helicopters, Kiowa scout helicopters, and Predator unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs). During the Operation Grapes of Wrath, on April 13, 1996, at Mansouri (Lebanon), an Israeli Apache helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at an ambulance, killing 6 civilians.[4] The Israeli Defence Forces have used them extensively against Palestinian targets. On March 22, 2004, an Israeli helicopter fired a Hellfire missile to kill Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin.
Between 2001 and 2007, the U.S. has fired over 6,000 Hellfires in combat. The US military has found the missile effective in urban areas as the relatively small warhead reduces the risk of civilian casualties. The laser guidance allows a skilled operator to put a missile through the window of a building.
The only known operational air-to-air kill with a Hellfire, performed by an Israeli Air Force AH-64A helicopter, took place on May 24, 2001, against a civilian Cessna 152 aircraft entering Israeli airspace from Lebanon with unknown intentions and refusing to answer or comply with ATC. Complete disintegration of the intercepted aircraft resulted.[5]
In 2008, the usage of the AGM-114N variant caused controversy in the United Kingdom when it was found out that these thermobaric munitions were added to the British Army arsenal in secrecy. Thermobaric weapons have been condemned by human rights groups. The UK Ministry of Defence refers to the AGM-114N an "enhanced blast weapon".[6]
Launch vehicles and systems
Manned Helicopters
- AH-1W SuperCobra
- AH-1Z Viper
- AH-64 Apache
- Agusta A129 Mangusta
- Eurocopter Tiger ARH
- SH-60 / MH-60R / MH-60S Seahawk
- OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
- RAH-66 Comanche
- AH-6 Little Bird
- UH-60 Blackhawk
- Westland WAH-64 Apache
Fixed-Wing Aircraft
Unmanned Aircraft
- MQ-1B Predator
- MQ-9 Reaper
- MQ-1C Warrior
Manned Boat
- Combat Boat 90
Experimental Platforms
The system has been tested for use on the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) and the Improved TOW Vehicle (ITV). Test shots have also been fired from a C-130 Hercules (see photos above). Sweden and Norway use the Hellfire for coastal defense, and Norway has conducted tests with Hellfire launchers on Protector M151 remotely-controlled weapon systems mounted on the Stridsbåt 90 coastal assault boat.[8]
Operators
Variants
AGM-114A Basic Hellfire
- Target: Tanks, armored vehicles.
- Range: 8,000 m (8,750 yd)
- Guidance: Semi-active laser homing (SALH).
- Warhead: 8 kg (18 lb) shaped charge HEAT.
- Length: 163 cm (64 in)
- Weight: 45 kg (99 lb)
AGM-114B/C Basic Hellfire
- M120E1 low smoke motor.
- AGM-114B has electronic SAD (Safe/Arming Device) for safe shipboard use.
- Unit cost: $25,000
AGM-114D/E Basic Hellfire
- Proposed upgrade of AGM-114B/C with digital autopilot—not built.
AGM-114F Interim Hellfire
- Target: Tanks, armored vehicles.
- Range: 7,000 m (7,650 yd)
- Guidance: Semi-active laser homing.
- Warhead: 9 kg (20 lb) tandem shaped charge HEAT.
- Length: 180 cm (71 in)
- Weight: 48.5 kg (107 lb)
AGM-114G Interim Hellfire
- Proposed version of AGM-114F with SAD—not built.
AGM-114H Interim Hellfire
- Proposed upgrade of AGM-114F with digital autopilot—not built.
AGM-114J Hellfire II
- Proposed version of AGM-114F with lighter components, shorter airframe, and increased range—not built.
AGM-114K Hellfire II
- Target: All armored threats
- Range: 8,000 m (8,749 yd)
- Guidance:
- Semi-active laser homing with Electro-optical countermeasures hardening
- Digital autopilot improvements allow target reacquisition after lost laser lock
- New electronic SAD
- Warhead: 9 kg (20 lb) tandem shaped charge HEAT
- Length: 163 cm (64 in)
- Weight: 45.4 kg (100 lb)
- Unit cost: $65,000
- Essentially the proposed AGM-114J w/ SAD
AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire
- Target: All armored threats
- Range: 8,000 m (8,749 yd)
- Guidance:
- Fire and forget Millimeter wave radar seeker coupled with Inertial guidance
- Homing capability in adverse weather and the presence of battlefield obscurants
- Warhead: 9 kg (20 lb) tandem shaped charge high explosive anti-tank (HEAT)
- Length: 176 cm (69.2 in)
- Weight: 49 kg (108 lb)
AGM-114M Hellfire II
- Target: Bunkers, light vehicles, urban (soft) targets and caves
- Range: 8,000 m (8,749 yd)
- Guidance:
- Semi-active laser homing
- Warhead: Blast fragmentation/incendiary
- Weight: 48.2 kg (106 lb)
- Length: 163 cm (64 in)
AGM-114N Hellfire II
- Target: Enclosures, ships, urban targets, air defense units
- Range: 8,000 m (8,749 yd)
- Guidance:
- Semi-active laser homing
- Warhead: Metal augmented charge (MAC) (Thermobaric)
- Weight: 48 kg (105 lb)
- Length: 163 cm (64 in)
AGM-114P Hellfire II
- Version of AGM-114K optimized for use from UCAVs flying at high altitude.
ATM-114Q Hellfire II
- Practice version of AGM-114N with inert warhead.
AGM-114R Hellfire II
- Version optimized for use from UCAVs (increased engagement envelope)
- Target: Bunkers, light vehicles, urban (soft) targets and caves
- Range: 8,000 m (8,749 yd)
- Guidance:
- Semi-active laser homing
- Warhead: Integrated Blast Frag Sleeve (IBFS) (combine blast fragmentation and fragment dispersion).
- Weight: 50 kg (110 lb)
- Speed : Mach 1.3
ATM-114S Hellfire II
- Practice version of AGM-114K with a spotting charge instead of a warhead.
Rocket motor
- Contractor: Alliant Techsystems
- Designation:
- M120E3 (Army)
- M120E4 (Navy)
- Main features:
- Qualified minimum smoke propellant
- Rod and tube grain design
- Neoprene bondline system
- Performance:
- Operating temperature: −43 °C to 63 °C (−45 °F to 145 °F)
- Storage temperature: −43 °C to 71 °C (−45 °F to 160 °F)
- Service life: 20+ years (estimated)
- Technical data:
- Weight: 14.2 kg (31.3 lb)
- Length: 59.3 cm (23.35 in)
- Diameter: 18 cm (7.0 in)
- Case: 7075-T73 aluminum
- Insulator: R-181 aramid fiber-filled EPDM
- Nozzle: Cellulose phenolic
- Propellant: Minimum smoke cross linked double based (XLDB)
See also
- Brimstone missile
- AGM-169 Joint Common Missile
- Euromissile HOT
- PARS 3 LR
- Nag
- List of missiles
- U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command
- AN/PAQ-1
- Direct Attack Guided Rocket
- Roketsan Cirit
- Griffin (missile)
References
- ↑ AGM-114 Hellfire Variants. GlobalSecurity.org, November 25, 2005. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
- ↑ Globalsecurity.org AGM-114 page
- ↑ Introduction of the Hellfire – A Revolutionary Weapon to defeat the Soviet Armor Threat – Official US Army video at Real Military Flix
- ↑ Robert Fisk: The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East, pp.773–788, ISBN 9781400075171
- ↑ (Hebrew)
- ↑ Smith, Michael (June 22, 2008). "Army 'vacuum' missile hits Taliban". London: Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4187835.ece. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ↑ "New Iraqi Airborne Strike Capability Spotted". Aviation Week. October 14, 2008. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/IRAQ101408.xml. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- ↑ Norwegian article about the experimental deployment of Hellfire missiles on coastal patrol boats (from the official web site of the Norwegian Armed Forces)
- ↑ "Heavy U.S. Military Aid to Lebanon Arrives ahead of Elections". Naharnet Newsdesk. April 9, 2009. http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/Lebanon/C4E6544B51A01293C2257593001BCF28?OpenDocument. Retrieved April 9, 2009.
External links
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$37.2 billion