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AGM-114 Hellfire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

AGM-114 Hellfire

A model of a Hellfire's components

TypeAir-to-surface and surface-to-surfacemissile 

Place of origin United States 

Production history

Manufacturer Lockheed Martin

Unit cost $68,000 USD

Specifications

Weight 100 – 108lb (45.4 – 49kg)[1] 

Length 64 in (163 cm)

Diameter 7 in (17.8 cm)

Warhead

High Explosive Anti-Tank  (HEAT); 20lb (9 kg) tandem anti-armorMetal augmented charge (MAC); 18 lb(8 kg) shaped-charge Blast Fragmentation

Engine Solid-fuel rocket

Wingspan 13 in (33 cm)

Operational

range546 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

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The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile, developed primarily for anti-armor use. Itcan 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-groundprecision weapon for the armed forces of the United States and many other nations. TheHELLFIRE name comes from its original intention as a helicopter-launched fire-and-forget 

weapon ( HELicopter Launched FIRE-and-forget ).

[2]

 

The AGM-114 Hellfire is a combat-proven tactical missile system. The missile has been incombat use since the mid-1980s.

Description 

The Hellfire today is a comprehensive weapon system, one that can be deployed from rotary- andfixed-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.[3][4] 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 wascompleted in Fiscal Year (FY)93 and FY94. AGM-114M did not require a DT&E because it isthe same as the AGM-114K except for the warhead. Most 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 variantsfor 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 (blastfragmentation), 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, orLongbow Hellfire, is a fire-and-forget weapon: equipped with a millimeter wave (MMW) radarseeker, it requires no further guidance after launch and can hit its target without the launcherbeing in line of sight of the target. It also provides capability in adverse weather and battlefieldobscurants. Each Hellfire weighs 47 kg / 106 pounds, including the 9 kg / 20 pound warhead, andhas a range of 8,000 meters. By 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 warheadthat 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 warrantedcontinuation based on their cost effectiveness, including the JCM. A possible new JCMsuccessor 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 asuccessor to the JCM is fielded, as well as extensive foreign sales, it is likely the Hellfire willcontinue to remain in service for many years to come.

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Combat history 

Since being fielded, Hellfire missiles have proven their effectiveness in combat in Operation JustCause in Panama, Operation Desert Storm in Persian Gulf, Operation Allied Force inYugoslavia, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, in Operation Iraqi Freedom — where

they have been fired successfully from Apache and Cobra attack helicopters, Kiowa scouthelicopters, and Predator unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs). The most recent deploymentof the weapon has been by NATO during the 2011 Libyan civil war as part of the NATOoperation in the country.

From 2001 to 2007, the U.S. military fired over 6,000 Hellfires in combat. It has found themissile effective in urban areas as the relatively small warhead reduces the risk of civiliancasualties.

The only known operational air-to-air kill with a Hellfire took place on May 24, 2001. A civilianCessna 152 aircraft entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, with unknown intentions and refusing

to answer or comply with ATC repeated warnings to turn back. Fearing a terrorist attack, anIsraeli Air Force AH-64A helicopter fired upon the Cessna, resulting in its completedisintegration,[5] and the death of Estephan Nicolian, a student pilot.[6] 

The Israeli Defence Forces have used them extensively against Palestinian targets.[7][8] 

During Operation Grapes of Wrath, on April 13, 1996, at Mansouri, Lebanon, an Israeli Apachehelicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at an ambulance, killing 6 civilians.[9] 

On March 22, 2004, an Israeli helicopter fired a Hellfire missile to kill Hamas leader AhmedYassin, which also killed both his bodyguards and 9 bystanders .[10][11] 

In 2008, the usage of the AGM-114N variant caused controversy in the United Kingdom when itwas found out that these thermobaric munitions were added to the British Army arsenal insecrecy. Thermobaric weapons have been condemned by human rights groups[12]. The UKMinistry of Defence refers to the AGM-114N an "enhanced blast weapon"[12]. 

Launch vehicles and systems

Manned Helicopters

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 Hellfire loaded onto the rails of a United States Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra at Balad AirBase in Iraq in 2005.

  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 

  Cessna 208  

Lockheed Martin KC-130 Harvest HAWK 

Unmanned Aircraft 

Predator launching a Hellfire missile

  MQ-1B Predator   MQ-9 Reaper   MQ-1C Grey Eagle 

Manned Boat

  Combat Boat 90 

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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. 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.[15] 

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.

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AGM-114J Hellfire II

  Proposed version of AGM-114F with lighter components, shorter airframe, and increasedrange — not built.

AGM-114K Hellfire II

A Hellfire II exposed through transparent casing.

  Target: All armored threats  Range: 8,000 m (8,749 yd)  Guidance:

o  Semi-active laser homing with Electro-optical countermeasures hardeningo  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:

o  Fire and forget Millimeter wave radar seeker coupled with Inertial guidanceo  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:

o  Semi-active laser homing  Warhead: Blast fragmentation/incendiary  Weight: 48.2 kg (106 lb)

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  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:

o  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.

AGM-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:

o  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

AGM-114S Hellfire II

  Practice version of AGM-114K with a spotting charge instead of a warhead.

Rocket motor

Cross section diagram of Hellfire rocket motor, showing the rod and tube grain design.

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  Contractor: Alliant Techsystems   Designation:

o  M120E3 (Army)o  M120E4 (Navy)

  Main features:o 

Qualified minimum smoke propellanto  Rod and tube grain designo  Neoprene bondline system

  Performance:o  Operating temperature: −43 °C to 63 °C (−45 °F to 145 °F)o  Storage temperature: −43 °C to 71 °C (−45 °F to 160 °F)o  Service life: 20+ years (estimated)

  Technical data:o  Weight: 14.2 kg (31.3 lb)o  Length: 59.3 cm (23.35 in)o  Diameter: 18 cm (7.0 in)o 

Case: 7075-T73 aluminumo  Insulator: R-181 aramid fiber-filled EPDMo  Nozzle: Cellulose phenolico  Propellant: Minimum smoke cross linked double based (XLDB)