AGM-114 Hellfire

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AGM-114 Hellfire (Helicopter launched fire-and-forget) is a U.S. air-to-ground missile system designed to defeat tanks and other individual targets while minimizing the exposure of the launch vehicle to enemy fire. Hellfire uses laser guidance and is designed to accept other guidance packages. It is used on helicopters against heavily armored vehicles at longer standoff distances than any other U.S. Army missiles now in the inventory.

The Hellfire II is the optimized version of the laser family of Hellfire missiles. The Longbow Hellfire Modular Missile System is an air-launched, radar aided, inertially guided missile that utilizes millimeter-wave radar technology.

Despite the expanded acronym, most versions of the Hellfire missile are not truly "fire-and-forget"—all the laser-guided versions require constant illumination or "painting" of the target from launch to impact. The AGM-114L is a true fire-and-forget weapon: it requires no further guidance after launch and can hit its target without the launcher being in line of sight of the target.

The Hellfire (along with the Maverick and the air-launched TOW) was to be replaced by the Joint Common Missile (JCM) 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 US Department of Defense canceled a number of projects that they felt no longer warranted continuation based on their cost effectiveness, including the JCM. 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 be in service for many years.

Contents

Combat history

The first of Operation Desert Storm occurred on January 17, 1991, when eight AH-64 Apache helicopters used Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rockets to destroy two Iraqi early warning ground-control radar sites. However, this was not the first time that Hellfire missiles had been fired in combat. Over a year before, U.S. Army troops successfully used Hellfire against seven targets during Operation Just Cause in Panama. In early 2002, RQ-1 Predator UAVs were armed with Hellfires and used in combat.

The Ground/Vehicular Laser Locator Designator (G/VLLD) was used for designating moving or stationary targets for use with laser-homing weapons such as Hellfire. The G/VLLD could also provide accurate target information for use with conventional artillery. The system was issued to selected field artillery battalions, tank battalions, armored cavalry units, and selected infantry units. Hughes Aircraft Corporation and Optic Electronic Corporation, prime contractors for the system, manufactured the G/VLLD at a unit cost US$164,485.

The Hellfire missile has been used extensively in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and ongoing operations in Iraq.

As of January 14, 2006 the CIA reportedly used 10 Hellfire missiles from RQ-1 Predator's Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles to strike at Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda second in command with many aliases. It later turned out that that the target was not present at the time. See the airstrike on Damadola for more information.

Israel also uses them for "targeted killings" including the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas: Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Yassin. In order to minimise casualties Israel removed the explosive warhead, while replacing this weight with ballast to keep the weapon stable in flight. The weapon allows for accurate attacks that have little or no collateral damage.

Launch vehicles and systems

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 below). Sweden and Norway use the Hellfire for coastal defense, and Norway has conducted tests with Hellfire launchers and aiming stations mounted on the Stridsbåt 90 coastal assault boat[Norwegian article about the experimental deployment of Hellfire missiles on coastal patrol boats] (from the official web site of the Norwegian Armed Forces).

Users

Specifications

Contractors: Rockwell International Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman.
Diameter: 17.8 cm (7 in)
Wing span: 71 cm (28 in)
Velocity: 425 m/s (950 mph)
Minimum range: 0.5 km

Variants

AGM-114A Basic Hellfire

Target: Tanks, armored vehicles.
Range: 8,000 m (8,750 yd)
Guidance: Laser beam riding.
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 (Safing/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: Laser beam riding.
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: Tanks, armored vehicles.
Range: 9,000 m (9,850 yd)
Guidance:
*semi-active laser.
*Digital autopilot.
*Electro-optical countermeasures hardening.
*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 kg (99 lb)
Unit cost: $65,000
Essentially the proposed AGM-114J w/ SAD

AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire

Target: Tanks, armored vehicles.
Range: 9,000 m (9,850 yd)
Guidance:
*Fire and forget.
*Inertial guidance.
*Millimeter wave radar seeker.
*Home-on-jam anti-radiation mode.
Warhead: 9 kg (20 lb) tandem shaped charge HEAT.
Length: 176 cm (69.2 in)
Weight: 49 kg (108 lb)

AGM-114M Hellfire II

Target: Ships, caves, urban targets, air defense units.
Warhead: Blast fragmentation.
Weight: 48 kg (105 lb)

AGM-114N Hellfire II

Target: Buildings, bunkers, caves, personnel.
Warhead: Metal Augmented Charge thermobaric overpressure.

AGM-114P Hellfire II

Version of AGM-114K optimized for use from UAVs flying at high-altitude.

Rocket motor

Cross section diagram of Hellfire rocket motor, showing the rod and tube grain design (click to enlarge).

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)
*

Photos

References

External links

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