The AGM-114 Hellfire is an
air-to-ground missile
An air-to-surface missile (ASM) or air-to-ground missile (AGM) is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft at targets on land or sea. There are also unpowered guided glide bombs not considered missiles. The two most common p ...
(AGM) first developed for
anti-armor
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first devel ...
use,
later developed for
precision
Precision, precise or precisely may refer to:
Science, and technology, and mathematics Mathematics and computing (general)
* Accuracy and precision, measurement deviation from true value and its scatter
* Significant figures, the number of digit ...
drone strike
Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pakist ...
s against other target types, especially
high-value target
In United States military terminology, a high-value target (HVT) is the term given to a person or resource that an enemy commander requires to complete a mission. The term has been widely used in the news media for Osama Bin Laden and high-ranking ...
s. It was originally developed under the name ''
Heliborne laser,
fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget is a type of missile guidance which does not require further external intervention after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the targe ...
missile'', which led to the colloquial name "Hellfire" ultimately becoming the missile's formal name. It has a multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike ability and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms, including the
Predator drone
The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ( ...
. The Hellfire missile is the primary class air-to-ground precision weapon for the armed forces of the United States and many other nations. It has also been fielded on surface platforms in the surface-to-surface and surface-to-air roles.
Description
Most variants are
laser-guided
Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...
, with one variant, the AGM-114L "Longbow Hellfire", being radar-guided. Laser guidance can be provided either from the launcher, such as the nose-mounted opto-electronics of the
AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin- turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night v ...
attack helicopter, other airborne target designators or from ground-based observers, the latter two options allowing the launcher to break line of sight with the target and seek cover.
The development of the Hellfire Missile System began in 1974 with the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
requirement for a "
tank-buster", launched from
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s to defeat
armored fighting vehicles.
The Hellfire II, developed in the early 1990s is a modular missile system with several variants, and entered service with the U.S. Army in 1996. Hellfire II's semi-active laser variants—AGM-114K
high-explosive anti-tank
High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...
(HEAT), AGM-114KII with external blast fragmentation 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. The
General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and
MQ-9 Reaper unmanned combat aerial vehicle
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, colloquially shortened as drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ...
s (UCAVs) carry the Hellfire II, but the most common platform is the
AH-1Z Viper
The Bell AH-1Z Viper is a twin-engine attack helicopter, based on the AH-1W SuperCobra, designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopter. Being one of the latest members of the prolific Bell Huey family, it is also ca ...
helicopter gunship, which can carry up to 16 of them. The AGM-114L, or Longbow Hellfire, is a
fire-and-forget
Fire-and-forget is a type of missile guidance which does not require further external intervention after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the targe ...
weapon: equipped with a millimeter-wave (MMW)
active radar homing, it requires no further guidance after launch—even being able to lock on to its target after launch—and can hit its target without the launcher or other friendly unit being in line of sight of the target. It also works in adverse weather and battlefield obscurants, such as smoke and fog, which can mask the position of a target or prevent a designating laser from forming a detectable reflection. Each Hellfire weighs , including the warhead, and has a range of depending on trajectory.
The AGM-114R "Romeo" Hellfire II entered service in late 2012. It uses a semi-active laser homing guidance system and a K-charge multipurpose warhead to engage targets that formerly needed multiple Hellfire variants. It will replace AGM-114K, M, N, and P variants in U.S. service.
In October 2012, the U.S. ordered 24,000 Hellfire II missiles, for both the U.S. armed forces and foreign customers.
A possible new JCM successor called the
Joint Air to Ground Missile
The AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) is an American military program to develop an air-to-surface missile to replace the current air-launched BGM-71 TOW, AGM-114 Hellfire, and AGM-65 Maverick missiles. The U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Cor ...
(JAGM) is under consideration. Due to budget reductions, JAGM development was separated into increments, with increment 1 focusing on adding a millimeter-wave radar to the Hellfire-R to give it a dual-mode seeker, enabling it to track moving targets in bad weather.
Operational history
![Destroyed M1A1 Abrams](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Destroyed_M1A1_Abrams.jpg)
In 2009, the
British Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The MOD states that its principal objectives are to ...
(MoD) acknowledged that
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
(AAC)
AgustaWestland Apache
The AgustaWestland Apache is a licence-built version of the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter for the British Army Air Corps. The first eight helicopters were built by Boeing; the remaining 59 were assembled by Westland Helic ...
s had used AGM-114 Hellfire missiles against
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
forces
in Afghanistan. The MoD stated that 20 missiles were used in 2008 and a further 20 in 2009. In the
British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
,
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
politician
Nick Harvey
Sir Nicholas Barton Harvey (born 3 August 1961) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the member of parliament (MP) for North Devon from 1992 to 2015 and the Minister of State for the Armed Forces from 2010 to 2012.
Early life an ...
argued that the "Parliament must be reassured these are a weapon of last resort."
AGM-114 Hellfire missiles were used to kill
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
leader
Ahmed Yassin by the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...
(IAF) in 2004, and by the
US military
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...
to kill American-born Islamic cleric
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar Nasser al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi, al-Awlaqi; ar, أنور العولقي, Anwar al-‘Awlaqī; April 21 or 22, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was an American imam who was killed in 2011 in Yemen by a U.S. government drone strik ...
in
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
in 2011,
Al-Qaeda operative
Abu Yahya al-Libi in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
in 2012,
al-Shabaab militant
Mukhtar Abu Zubair in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
in 2014,
and British
ISIL
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
executioner
Mohammed Emwazi
Mohammed Emwazi (born Muhammad Jassim Abdulkarim Olayan al-Dhafiri; ar, محمد جاسم عبد الكريم عليان الظفيري; 17 August 1988 – 12 November 2015) was a British militant of Kuwaiti origin believed to be the pers ...
(also known as "Jihadi John") in
Syria in 2015. They were also used in the
Assassination of Qasem Soleimani
On 3 January 2020, Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was killed by a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. The drone targeted and killed Soleimani while he was on his way to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi ...
as well as the
Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The AGM-114 has occasionally been used as an
air-to-air missile. The first operational air-to-air kill with a Hellfire took place on 24 May 2001, after a civilian
Cessna 152 aircraft entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, with unknown intentions and refusing to answer or comply with
ATC repeated warnings to turn back. An Israeli Air Force AH-64A Apache helicopter fired on the Cessna, resulting in its complete disintegration. The second operational air-to-air kill with a Hellfire occurred on 10 February 2018, after an Iranian
UAV
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...
entered Israeli airspace from Syria. An Israeli Air Force AH-64 launched a Hellfire missile at the UAV, successfully destroying it.
In January 2016 ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' reported that one training missile without a warhead was accidentally shipped to Cuba in 2014 after a training mission in Europe; it was later returned. A US official said that this was an inert "dummy" version of the Lockheed system stripped of its warhead, fuse, guidance equipment and motor, known as a "Captive Air Training Missile".
Variants
![AH-64A (Israeli Air Force)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/AH-64A_%28Israeli_Air_Force%29.jpg)
; AGM-114A
:
:* Produced: 1982–1992
:* Target: Armored vehicles
:* Range:
:* Guidance:
:**
Semi-active laser homing
Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...
(SALH)
:** Non-programmable. Analogue autopilot.
:*
Warhead
A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
* Expl ...
:
shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, ini ...
HEAT
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
. Unable to penetrate
reactive armor
Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. It is most effective in protecting against shaped charges and specially hardened kinetic ener ...
.
:* Length:
:* Weight:
; AGM-114B/C:
:* Produced: 1982–1992
:* Target: Armored vehicles, ship-borne targets
:* Range:
:* Guidance:
:** Semi-active laser homing (SALH)
:** Non-programmable
:** Analogue autopilot
:* Warhead: shaped charge HEAT. Unable to penetrate reactive armor.
:* Length:
:* Weight:
; AGM-114F/FA Interim Hellfire:
:* Produced: 1991–1994
:* Target: Armored vehicles
:* Range:
:* Guidance:
:** Semi-active laser homing (SALH)
:** Non-programmable
:** Analogue autopilot
:* Warhead:
shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to form an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, ini ...
HEAT.
Tandem-charge
A tandem-charge or dual-charge weapon is an explosive device or projectile that has two or more stages of detonation, assisting it to penetrate either reactive armour on an armoured vehicle or strong structures.
Anti-tank
Tandem charges are ef ...
, can penetrate reactive armor.
:* Length:
:* Weight:
; AGM-114K/K2/K2A Hellfire II:
:* Produced: since 1993
:* Target: All armored targets
:* Range:
:* Guidance:
:** Semi-active laser homing with electro-optical countermeasures hardening
:** Digital autopilot & electronics improvements allow target reacquisition after lost laser lock
:* Warhead: tandem shaped charge HEAT
:* Length:
:* Weight:
:* K-2 adds insensitive munitions (IM)
:* K-2A adds
blast-fragmentation sleeve
; AGM-114L Hellfire LongBow:
:* Produced: 1995–2005
:* Target: All armored targets
:* Range:
:* Guidance:
:** Fire and forget millimeter-wave (MMW) radar seeker coupled with inertial guidance
:** Homing capability in adverse weather and the presence of battlefield obscurants
:** Programmable fusing and guidance
:* Warhead: tandem shaped charge
high-explosive anti-tank
High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...
(HEAT) insensitive munitions (IM) warhead
:* Length:
:* Weight:
:* L-7/8A Counter-UAS/counter-littoral variants with proximity fuze and blast-fragmentation sleeve
; AGM-114M Hellfire II (Blast Frag):
:* Produced: 1998–2010
:* Target:
Bunkers, light vehicles,
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
(soft) targets and caves
:* Range:
:* Guidance:
:** Semi-active laser homing
:** Delayed and programmable fusing in for hardened targets
:* Warhead: Blast fragmentation/
incendiary
:* Weight:
:* Length:
; AGM-114N Hellfire (MAC):
![Lockheed Martin Hellfire II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Lockheed_Martin_Hellfire_II.jpg)
:* Produced: since 2003
:* Target: Buildings, soft-skinned targets, ship-borne targets
:* Range:
:* Guidance:
:** Semi-active laser homing
:** Millimeter-wave radar seeker
:* Warhead: Metal augmented charge, sustained pressure wave with delayed fuse capability
:* Weight:
:* Speed: Mach 1.3 (1,600 km/h)
:* Diameter:
:* Wingspan:
:* Length:
; AGM-114P/P+ Hellfire II (For UAS):
:* Produced: 2003–2012
:* Target: All surface targets
:* Range:
:* Guidance:
:** Semi-active laser homing
:** Delayed and programmable fusing in for hardened targets
:* Warhead: Shaped Charge or Blast Fragmentation
:* Weight:
:* Length:
:* Designed for UAV altitudes
:* P-2A adds steel fragmentation sleeve
:* P-2B adds tantalum fragmentation sleeve
:* P+ Adds enhanced inertial measurement unit (IMU) and software support, many customizations for varying battlefields.
; AGM-114R Hellfire II (Hellfire Romeo):
:* Produced: since 2012
:* Target: All targets
:* Range:
:* Guidance:
:** Semi-active laser homing
:* Warhead: Multi-function warhead, reduced net explosive weight for low collateral damage (R-9E and R-9H).
:* Weight:
:* Speed: Mach 1.3
:* Length:
:* Unit Cost: $99,600 (all-up round, 2015 USD)
; M36 Captive Flight Training Missile: The M36 is an inert device used for training in the handling of the Hellfire. It includes an operational laser seeker.
; AGM-114R9X: The Hellfire R9X is a Hellfire variant with a
kinetic warhead with pop-out blades instead of explosives, used against specific human targets. Its lethality is due to 45 kg (100 lb) of dense material with six blades flying at high speed, to crush and cut the targeted person
[— the R9X has also been referred to as the 'Ninja Missile' and 'Flying ]Ginsu
Ginsu () is a brand of direct marketed knives, owned by Scott Fetzer Company, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, that was made popular in the United States by being sold on television using infomercials characterized by hawker and hard sell pitch ...
'. It is intended to reduce collateral damage
Collateral damage is any death, injury, or other damage inflicted that is an incidental result of an activity. Originally coined by military operations, it is now also used in non-military contexts.
Since the development of precision guided ...
when targeting specific people. Deployed in secret in 2017, its existence has been public since 2019. This variant was used in the killing in 2017 of Abu Khayr al-Masri, a member of Al-Qaeda's leadership, and in 2019 of Jamal Ahmad Mohammad Al Badawi, accused mastermind of the 2000 USS ''Cole'' bombing. The weapon has also been used in Syria, and in Afghanistan against a Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
commander. It was used twice in 2020 against senior al-Qaeda leaders in Syria; in September 2020 US officials estimated that it had been used in combat around six times.
: Hellfire missiles fired by a Reaper drone
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...
were used on 31 July 2022 to kill Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, who had formerly been involved in planning the 9/11 and other attacks on US targets. It was reported that the missile hit him on a balcony, causing minimal collateral damage. Reports stress that avoiding other casualties was a priority for the mission, following drone attacks that killed several uninvolved people, attracting much criticism. It is widely thought that the Hellfires were the R9X variant, but a United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Ar ...
spokesman declined to comment, while confirming that the R9X was "in US Special Operations Command's munitions inventory".
Launch vehicles and systems
Manned helicopters
*AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin- turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night v ...
[Apache Guardian set to deploy on May](_blank)
- Koreatimes.co.kr, 26 January 2016
*AH-6
The Boeing AH-6 is a series of light helicopter gunships based on the MH-6 Little Bird and MD 500 family. Developed by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems, these include the Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) demonstrator, the A/MH-6X Mission Enhanced Little Bir ...
*MH-6 Little Bird
The Boeing MH-6M Little Bird (nicknamed the Killer Egg) and its attack variant, the AH-6, are light helicopters used for special operations in the United States Army. Originally based on a modified OH-6A, it was later based on the MD 500E, w ...
*AH-1Z Viper
The Bell AH-1Z Viper is a twin-engine attack helicopter, based on the AH-1W SuperCobra, designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Bell Helicopter. Being one of the latest members of the prolific Bell Huey family, it is also ca ...
* Bell OH-58 Kiowa
* Tiger ARH
*MH-60R
The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificat ...
* MH-60S
Fixed-wing aircraft
*Beechcraft Super King Air
The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996 ...
* Cessna AC-208 Combat Caravan
*KC-130J
The Lockheed Martin (previously Lockheed) KC-130 is a family of the extended-range tanker version of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The KC-130J is the latest variant operated by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), with 48 delivered ...
Harvest HAWK
* IOMAX Archangel
The Ayres Thrush, formerly the Snow S-2,Macdonald, 1964. p.138. Aero Commander Ag Commander, and Rockwell Thrush Commander, is an American agricultural aircraft produced by Ayres Corporation and more recently by Thrush Aircraft. It is one of the ...
* AC-130W
The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, naviga ...
* MQ-1 Predator
The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ...
* MQ-1C Gray Eagle
* MQ-9 Reaper
Vessels
*Super Dvora Mk III-class patrol boat
The Super Dvora Mark III-class patrol boat is the latest generation of the Dvora family of fast patrol boats or fast attack craft (FPB/FAC). Manufactured by IAI Ramta in 2004 these vessels are capable of travelling up to in littoral waters than ...
, Israel
*Freedom-class littoral combat ship
The ''Freedom'' class is one of two classes of the littoral combat ship program, built for the United States Navy.
The ''Freedom'' class was proposed by a consortium formed by Lockheed Martin as "prime contractor" and by Fincantieri (project) ...
*Independence-class littoral combat ship
The ''Independence'' class is a class of littoral combat ships built for the United States Navy.
The hull design evolved from a project at Austal to design a high speed, 40-knot-cruise ship. That hull design evolved into the high-speed trimar ...
Ground vehicles
* Stryker
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. I ...
, IM-SHORAD variant
Experimental platforms
The system has been tested for use on the Humvee
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ...
and the Improved TOW Vehicle (ITV). Test shots have also been fired from a C-130 Hercules. Sweden and Norway use the Hellfire for coastal defense and have conducted tests with Hellfire launchers mounted on the Combat Boat 90
Stridsbåt 90 H(alv) (Strb 90 H; CB90) is a class of fast military assault craft used by several countries after being originally developed for the Swedish Navy by Dockstavarvet. Its name means Combat Boat 90 Half; the ''90'' refers to the year ...
coastal assault boat.
The US Navy was evaluating the missile for use on the Freedom-class littoral combat ship
The ''Freedom'' class is one of two classes of the littoral combat ship program, built for the United States Navy.
The ''Freedom'' class was proposed by a consortium formed by Lockheed Martin as "prime contractor" and by Fincantieri (project) ...
and Independence-class littoral combat ship from 2014. The missile was successfully fired from a LCS in early 2017 This system is set to deploy by late 2019.
In 2016 the Longbow Hellfire was tested by the US Army using a 15-tube Multi-Mission Launcher
The Multi-Mission Launcher (MML) is an open-systems architecture multi-role missile launching system created by the United States Army's Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center.
Development
The MML has its roots in t ...
mounted on a Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) truck. The MML is an Army-developed weapon system capable of deploying both surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles.
Operators
The following nations use the Hellfire:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
* 9M120 Ataka
The 9M120 ''Ataka'' (russian: Атака; ''Attack'') is an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) originating from the Soviet Union. The NATO reporting name of the 9M120 missile is the AT-9 ''Spiral-2''. It is the next major generation in the 9K114 Sh ...
* AGM-169 Joint Common Missile
The AGM-169 Joint Common Missile (JCM) was a tactical air-to-surface missile program (2002–2007) developed by the Lockheed Martin corporation for the United States military aircraft, such as attack and utility helicopters, strike fighters an ...
* AGM-176 Griffin
The AGM-176 Griffin is a lightweight, precision-guided munition developed by Raytheon. It can be launched from the ground or air as a rocket-powered missile or dropped from the air as a guided bomb. It carries a relatively small warhead, and was ...
* Barq
Barq ( ur, برق, "lightning") is a laser-guided air-to-surface missile developed by Pakistan. It has a range of and weight of .
Operational history
The missile was unveiled on 13 March 2015 being fired from the NESCOM Burraq unmanned com ...
* Brimstone (missile)
Brimstone is a ground or air-launched ground attack missile developed by MBDA UK for the UK's Royal Air Force. It was originally intended for "fire-and-forget" use against mass formations of enemy armour, using a millimetre wave (mmW) active rad ...
* Direct Attack Guided Rocket
The Direct Attack Guided Rocket (DAGR) is a weapons system under development by Lockheed Martin. The program goal is to provide a low cost 2.75 inch (70 mm) precision guided rocket which is compatible with existing Hellfire II syste ...
* HJ-10
HJ-10 (or "Red Arrow 10") is a Chinese ground-launched anti-tank missile developed by Norinco. It has a tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead, that may penetrate of conventional steel armour protected by explosive reactive armour. The m ...
* List of missiles
Below is a list of missiles, sorted alphabetically into large categories and subcategories by name and purpose.
Other missile lists
Types of missiles:
* Conventional guided missiles
** Air-to-air missile
** Air-to-surface missile
** Anti-rad ...
* Mokopa
* Nag (missile)
The Nag missile (IAST: '' Nāga''; en: Cobra), also called "Prospina" for the land-attack version, is an Indian third-generation, all-weather, fire-and-forget, lock-on after launch, anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) with an operational range of 5 ...
* PARS 3 LR
The PARS 3 LR in German service, also known as TRIGAT-LR (Third Generation AntiTank, Long Range) and AC 3G in French, is a fire-and-forget missile, which can be used against air or ground targets. It is intended for long range applications and d ...
* Spike (missile)
Spike (Hebrew: ספייק) is an Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile with a tandem-charge high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead. , it is in its fourth generation. It was developed and designed by the Is ...
* UMTAS
UMTAS or Mizrak-U ''(Uzun Menzilli Tanksavar Sistemi)'' is a modern long range air-to-surface anti-tank guided missile developed by Turkish armor and missile manufacturer Roketsan.
Background
The UMTAS program was begun in late 2003 by Turkey's ...
* United States Army Aviation and Missile Command
The United States Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) develops, acquires, fields and sustains aviation, missile and unmanned aerial vehicles. AMCOM is primarily responsible for lifecycle management of army missile, helicopter, unmanned gro ...
References
External links
AGM-114 Hellfire
—Federation of American Scientists (FAS)
HELLFIRE II Missile
Lockheed Martin
LONGBOW FCR and LONGBOW HELLFIRE Missile
Lockheed Martin
* Archived copy o
Navy Fact File
Janes.com
Hellfire Detailed Description and Images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agm-114 Hellfire
AGM-114
AGM-114
Anti-tank guided missiles of the Cold War
Articles containing video clips
Thermobaric weapons
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s
Fire-and-forget weapons
Lockheed Martin