| Brimstone | |
|---|---|
A triplet of Brimstone missiles on display |
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| Type | anti-tank missile |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2005 |
| Used by | See operators |
| Wars | Operation TELIC (Iraq) Operation HERRICK (Afghanistan) Operation ELLAMY (Libya) |
| Production history | |
| Designer | GEC-Marconi |
| Designed | 1996 |
| Manufacturer | MBDA (UK) Ltd |
| Unit cost | £105,000[1] £175,000[2] (Dual Mode Variant) |
| Produced | 1999 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 48.5 kg |
| Length | 1.8 m |
| Diameter | 17.8 cm |
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| Warhead | HEAT tandem warhead |
| Detonation mechanism |
Crush fuze |
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| Engine | Solid fuel rocket |
| Operational range |
12 kilometres (7.5 mi) |
| Speed | Supersonic |
| Guidance system |
Radar and INS autopilot |
| Steering system |
Aerodynamic surfaces |
| Launch platform |
Tornado IDS, Eurofighter Typhoon |
Brimstone is an air-launched anti-tank missile developed by MBDA for Britain's Royal Air Force. It was originally intended for "fire and forget" use against mass formations of enemy armour, using a millimetre wave (mmW) seeker to ensure accuracy even against moving targets. Experience in Afghanistan led to the addition of laser guidance in the dual-mode Brimstone missile, allowing a "man in the loop" to pick out specific targets when friendly forces or civilians were in the area. The Tandem Shaped charge warhead is much more effective against modern tanks than similar weapons such as the AGM-65G Maverick, whilst the small blast area minimises collateral damage. Three Brimstones are carried on a launcher that occupies a single weapon station, allowing a single aircraft to carry many missiles.
After a protracted development programme, single-mode Brimstone entered service with RAF Tornados in 2005, and the dual-mode variant in 2008. The latter has been extensively used in Afghanistan and Libya. The RAF intend to fit Brimstone to their Eurofighter Typhoons and planned to integrate it with their Harriers until they were withdrawn from service in 2010. MBDA are studying the use of Brimstone on attack helicopters, the F-35 Lightning II, UAVs and from surface launchers; both the US and France have expressed interest in buying it for their aircraft.
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The missile was originally supposed to be an evolution of the original laser Hellfire, with the laser seeker replaced by a millimetre wave (mmW) seeker. During development, virtually the entire missile was redesigned, resulting in a weapon that - other than the external shape - bears no relation to the original airframe. It is unrelated to the separate development of the mmW Hellfire for the Longbow Apache. The missile airframe is developed from Boeing's AGM-114 Hellfire, but Brimstone is an all-new design with its own motor, warhead and seeker.[3]
Brimstone is a "fire and forget" missile, which is loaded with targeting data by the Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) prior to launch. Technically, it is programmable to adapt to particular mission requirements. This capability includes essentially the ability to find targets within a certain area (such as those near friendly forces), and to self-destruct if it is unable to find a target within the designated area. This information is provided to the munition by the WSO from RAF ASTOR, USAF JSTARS aircraft or local troops.
Brimstone has a Tandem Shaped Charge (TSC) warhead that employs a smaller initial charge, designed to initiate reactive armor, followed by a larger, more destructive charge, designed to penetrate and defeat the base armour. It has been estimated that Brimstone will be 3 times more effective than the AGM-65G Maverick missile against modern tanks, and 7 times more effective than the BL755 cluster bomb.[4]
In addition to the semi-autonomous ability to decide its own targets, the Brimstone has the capacity to determine where on a target to best impact causing the most damage or resulting in elimination of the target. The missile's advanced sensor package includes its extremely high frequency millimetric wave radar, which allows the weapon to image the target and hence choose a target location. The bandwidth of the MMW radar also makes it less susceptible to inclement weather. With as many as twenty-four missiles in the air, the missile's targeting system also required an algorithm to ensure that missiles hit their targets in a staggered order, rather than all simultaneously.
| External media | |
|---|---|
| Images | |
| Harrier with four Brimstone launchers | |
| Brimstone in Iraq, January 2009 | |
| Videos | |
| Video of Brimstone fired in Afghanistan, from a Tornado in 2009 | |
Each launch system incorporates three rails, i.e. one system carries three missiles. This allows a single aircraft to carry large numbers of missiles, for example a Typhoon could carry up to six launch systems on six individual pylons, which gives a maximum payload of eighteen Brimstone missiles, in addition to a useful air-to-air payload. The missile is carried by the Tornado GR4 in RAF service and is intended for the Eurofighter Typhoon as part of the SRP14 upgrade in 2014, but no contract has been signed yet for integration on the Typhoon.[5] As of 2010 MBDA was investigating the use of Brimstone from attack helicopters, the F-35 Lightning II, unmanned aircraft systems and surface launchers.[6]
It was intended that Brimstone would be integrated on the RAF Harrier fleet under Capability D of the JUMP programme[7] with a scheduled in-service date of 2009.[8] A Harrier GR9 first flew with 12 Brimstone on 14 February 2007,[7] and the RAF released video of a Tornado (incorrectly reported as a Harrier) using a Dual Mode Brimstone against an Afghan insurgent in 2008.[9] In late 2009 Brimstone was "nearing completion for integration on the Harrier"[10] but in July 2010 it was reported that Brimstone on the Harrier would be postponed until the insensitive-munition version of the missile became available in 2012.[6] Brimstone had not been officially cleared for use on the type when the UK Harriers were withdrawn from service in late 2010.
The missile was designed to meet the RAF's requirement for a long range anti-armour weapon, allowing strike aircraft to attack tanks and armoured vehicles at stand-off range, replacing the BL755 cluster bomb. This requirement was issued following an assessment of the British military's performance in the Gulf War. GEC-Marconi (whose missile interests now form part of MBDA) was originally awarded the contract on 7 November 1996.[11]
The programme ended up nearly 3 years late. The first ground firing of the Brimstone missile occurred in August 1999, followed by the first air-launched firing Tornado GR4 in September 2000. Clearance of the missile was delayed by 12 months due to the unavailability of a Tornado trials aircraft, as the RAF chose instead to rush the development of the Storm Shadow ahead of the Iraq war, but another delay of 6 months was due to the missile hitting the aircraft as it was released. Over 2000 missiles were produced.[1]
The original Brimstone could not be used in Afghanistan as the Rules of Engagement required a "man-in-the-loop". Under an Urgent Operational Requirement in 2008, modifications were made to the seeker and software of over 300 existing missiles to create Dual-Mode Brimstone.[8] The new missiles can be laser guided according to the STANAG 3733 standard as well as retaining the millimetre wave seeker; the pilot can select either mode from the cockpit or use both simultaneously.[8] Laser guidance allows specific enemy targets to be picked out in cluttered environments, the mmW radar ensures accuracy against moving targets.
The development and procurement of the original single-mode missiles cost £370m,[12] a figure inflated by accounting charges relating to the delays. The development of the dual-mode version cost an additional £10m.[12] The Daily Telegraph reports that the dual mode missiles cost £105,000[1] (~US$170,000), which is comparable to the cost of the AGM-65 Maverick; the MoD quote only a gross book value of £175,000, which includes development costs as well as the purchase cost of the missile.[13]
In March 2010 Brimstone was selected as the basis for the RAF's requirement for Selective Precision Effects At Range (SPEAR) Capability 2 Block 1.[14] The Demonstration and Manufacture (D&M) contract will increase the missile's performance "significantly", make the airframe modular, and convert the warhead and motor to use insensitive munitions.[8] The upgraded missiles will start flight testing at BAE Warton in 2011 and are expected to enter service in 2012.[6] At the same time MBDA were awarded an Assessment Phase contract for SPEAR Capability 3[14] (formerly SPEAR Drop 2). This requires a 75 miles (121 km) range[15] missile with a 100 kilograms (220 lb) warhead[6] to be integrated onto the F-35 Lightning II, and may use some modules from Brimstone.
In March 2005, Brimstone entered service with No. 31 Squadron RAF.[16] Full Operational Capability (FOC) was declared for the Tornado GR4 in December 2005[16][17]
The first operational sortie of dual-mode Brimstone was over Iraq as part of Operation TELIC[18] on 18 December 2008[8] by a Tornado GR4[18] of IX(B) Squadron. It was first fired in combat in June 2009,[8] the month that the Tornado GR4's of 12 Squadron arrived in Afghanistan as part of Operation HERRICK.
Brimstone was used extensively during Operation ELLAMY over Libya in 2011.[19] According to a British Ministry of Defence News report, dated 26 March 2011, RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft launched a number of Brimstone missiles over the towns of Misrata and Ajdabiya destroying a total of five armoured vehicles belonging to the Gaddafi regime.[20] 60 Brimstone were fired in the first four weeks of the Libya campaign,[1] out of 110 Brimstone fired in all operations up to that time.[1] This prompted the MoD to ask MBDA to convert more missiles to the dual-mode version.[1]
£10m-worth of Brimstones from the RAF stock were sold to the Royal Saudi Air Force for use on their Tornados. In April 2011, the RAF's Assistant Chief of the Air Staff Air Vice Marshal Baz North reported that the missiles were "being sought by both the United States of America and the French" in the light of Brimstone's success in Libya.[21] France's DGA procurement agency held meetings in late May 2011 to discuss a lightweight air-to-surface weapon for the Dassault Rafale; Stéphane Reb of the DGA would merely say that "Brimstone is a solution, but it's not the only option".[22]
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