AGM-114 Hellfire

The AGM-114 Hellfire (AGM stands for air-to-ground missile[4]) is an air-to-surface missile (ASM) first developed for anti-armor use, but later models were developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, and have been used in a number of actions aimed to "destroy high-value targets."[5] It was originally developed under the name Heliborne laser, fire-and-forget missile, which led to the colloquial name "Hellfire" ultimately becoming the missile's formal name.[6] It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike ability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms, including the Predator drone. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100-pound (45 kg) class air-to-ground precision weapon for the armed forces of the United States and many other nations.

AGM-114 Hellfire
A model of Longbow Hellfire's components
TypeAir-to-surface and surface-to-surface missile
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1984–present
WarsWar on Terror
Production history
ManufacturerLockheed Martin, Boeing (previous second source), and Northrop Grumman (seeker only for AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire)
Unit costUS$70,000[1] (FY 2021)
US$117,000 (FY2017)[2]
Produced1974–present
Specifications
Mass100–108 lb (45–49 kg)[3]
Length64 in (1.6 m)
Diameter7 in (180 mm)
Warhead
EngineSolid-fuel rocket
Wingspan13 in (0.33 m)
Operational
range
546 yd (0.499 km) to 6.84 mi (11.01 km)
Maximum speed Mach 1.3 (995 miles per hour, 1,601 km/h)
Guidance
system
Semi-active laser homing
millimeter wave radar seeker
Launch
platform
Rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft, unmanned combat air vehicles, tripods, ships, and ground vehicles

Description

Most variants are laser guided, with one variant, the AGM-114L "Longbow Hellfire", being radar guided.[7][8] Laser guidance can be provided either from the launcher, such as the nose-mounted opto-electronics of the AH-64 Apache 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.[9]

The development of the Hellfire Missile System began in 1974 with the United States Army requirement for a "tank-buster", launched from helicopters to defeat armored fighting vehicles.[10][11]

The Hellfire II, developed in the early 1990s is a modular missile system with several variants. Hellfire II's semi-active laser variants—AGM-114K high-explosive anti-tank (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. 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. 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—even being able to lock on to its target after launch[12]—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 47 kilograms (104 lb), including the 9 kilograms (20 lb) warhead, and has a range of 7.1–11 kilometres (4.4–6.8 mi) depending on trajectory.[13]

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[14][15] to engage targets that previously needed multiple Hellfire variants. It will replace AGM-114K, M, N, and P variants in U.S. service.[16]

In October 2012, the U.S. ordered 24,000 Hellfire II missiles, for both the U.S. armed forces and foreign customers.[17]

A possible new JCM successor called the Joint Air to Ground Missile (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.[18][19]

Operational history
M1A1 Abrams main battle tank destroyed by friendly fire in 1991 Gulf War; one Abrams is thought to have been accidentally set on fire by a Hellfire missile fired from an Apache helicopter.

In 2008, the use of the AGM-114N metal augmented charge (MAC) variant caused controversy in the United Kingdom when it was reported that these thermobaric munitions were added to the British Army arsenal. Thermobaric weapons have been condemned by human rights groups.[20] The UK Ministry of Defence refers to the AGM-114N as an "enhanced blast weapon".[20]

The AGM-114 has been the munition of choice for airborne targeted killings that have included high-profile terrorist figures such as Ahmed Yassin (Hamas leader) in 2004 by the Israeli Air Force,[21][22] Anwar al-Awlaki (American-born Islamic cleric and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader) in Yemen in 2011,[23] Abu Yahya al-Libi in Pakistan in 2012, Moktar Ali Zubeyr (also known as Ahmad Abdi Godane, leader of al-Shabaab) in Somalia in 2014,[24] and Mohammed Emwazi (British-born ISIL executioner also known as 'Jihadi John') in Syria in 2015.[25]

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.[26] The second operational air-to-air kill with a Hellfire occurred on 10 February 2018, after an Iranian UAV entered Israeli airspace from Syria. An Israeli Air Force AH-64 launched a missile on the UAV, successfully destroying it.[27]

In January 2016 The Wall Street Journal reported that one training missile without a warhead was accidentally shipped to Cuba in 2014 after a training mission in Europe;[28] it was later returned.[29] A US official said that this was an inert "dummy" version of the Lockheed system stripped of its warhead, fuze, guidance equipment and motor, known as a "Captive Air Training Missile".[30][31]

Variants
AGM-114 Ground Launched Hellfire-Light (GLH-L) missile system on a modified HMMWV chassis
Israeli Air Force Squadron 190 AH-64A Peten Launched Hellfire missile, Gaza–Israel clashes (November 2018)
AGM-114A[32]
  • Produced: 1982-1992
  • Target: Armored vehicles
  • Range: 8,000 m (8,700 yd)
  • Guidance: Semi-active laser homing (SALH). Non-Programmable, Analogue Autopilot.
  • Warhead: 8 kg (18 lb) shaped charge HEAT. Not Capable Against Reactive Armor.
  • Length: 163 cm (64 in)
  • Weight: 45 kg (99 lb)
AGM-114B/C
  • Produced: 1982-1992
  • Target: Armored vehicles, Ship-borne Targets
  • Range: 8,000 m (8,700 yd)
  • Guidance: Semi-active laser homing (SALH)
    • Non-Programmable
    • Analogue Autopilot
  • Warhead: 8 kg (18 lb) shaped charge HEAT. Not Capable Against Reactive Armor.
  • Length: 163 cm (64 in)
  • Weight: 45 kg (99 lb)
AGM-114F/FA Interim Hellfire
  • Produced: 1982-1992
  • Target: Armored vehicles
  • Range: 8,000 m (8,700 yd)
  • Guidance: Semi-active laser homing (SALH)
    • Non-Programmable
    • Analogue Autopilot
  • Warhead: 8 kg (18 lb) shaped charge HEAT. Tandem Warhead, Reactive Armor Capable
  • Length: 163 cm (64 in)
  • Weight: 45 kg (99 lb)
AGM-114K/K2/K2A Hellfire II
  • Produced: 1993-Present
  • Target: All armored threats
  • Range: 8,000 m (8,700 yd)
  • Guidance:
    • Semi-active laser homing with electro-optical countermeasures hardening
    • Digital autopilot & Electronics improvements allow target reacquisition after lost laser lock
  • Warhead: 9 kg (20 lb) tandem shaped charge HEAT
  • Length: 163 cm (64 in)
  • Weight: 45 kg (99 lb)
  • K-2 Adds Insensitive Munitions (IM)
  • K-2A Adds Blast-Frag Sleeve
AGM-114L Hellfire LongBow
  • Produced: 1995-2005
  • Target: All armored threats
  • Range: 8,000 m (8,700 yd)
  • 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: 9 kg (20 lb) tandem shaped charge high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) (Insensitive Munitions Warhead)(IM)
  • Length: 180 cm (71 in)
  • Weight: 49 kg (108 lb)
AGM-114M Hellfire II (Blast Frag)
  • Produced: 1998-2010
  • Target: Bunkers, light vehicles, urban (soft) targets and caves
  • Range: 8,000 m (8,700 yd)
  • Guidance:
    • Semi-active laser homing
    • Delayed and programmable fusing in for hardened targets
  • Warhead: Blast fragmentation/incendiary
  • Weight: 49 kg (108 lb)
  • Length: 180 cm (71 in)
Hellfire II missile exposed through a transparent casing, showing laser homing guidance system in front, copper cone shaped charge explosive in middle, propulsion in rear
AGM-114N Hellfire (MAC)[33]
  • Produced: 2003-Present
  • Target: Buildings, Soft-Skinned Targets, Ship-borne Targets
  • Range: 8,000 m (8,700 yd)
  • Guidance:
    • Semi-active laser homing
    • Millimeter wave radar seeker
  • Warhead: Metal Augmented Charge - Sustained Pressure Wave With Delayed Fuse Capability
  • Weight: 48 kg (106 lb)
  • Speed: Mach 1.3 (1,600 km/h)
  • Diameter: 180 mm (7.1 in)
  • Wingspan: 0.33 m (13 in)
  • Length: 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
AGM-114P/P+ Hellfire II (For UAS)
  • Produced: 2003-2012
  • Target: All Surface Targets
  • Range: In Excess of 8,000 m (8,700 yd)
  • Guidance:
    • Semi-active laser homing
    • Delayed and programmable fusing in for hardened targets
  • Warhead: Shaped Charge or Blast Fragmentation
  • Weight: 49 kg (108 lb)
  • Length: 180 cm (71 in)
  • Designed for UAV Altitudes
  • P-2A Adds Steel Frag Sleeve
  • P-2B Adds Tantalum Frag Sleeve
  • P+ Adds Enhanced IMU and SW Support, Many Customizations for Varying Battlefields.
AGM-114R Hellfire II (Hellfire Romeo)[34]
  • Produced: 2012-Present
  • Target: All Targets
  • Range: 8,000 m (8,700 yd)
  • Guidance:
    • Semi-active laser homing
  • Warhead: Multi-function warhead, reduced net explosive weight for low collateral damage (R-9E and R-9H).
  • Weight: 49 kg (108 lb)
  • Speed: Mach 1.3
  • Length: 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[35]
  • Unit Cost: $99,600 (All-Up Round, 2015 USD)[36]
M36 Captive Flight Training Missile
  • The M36 is an inert device used for training the handling of the Hellfire. It includes an operational laser seeker.[37]
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 slice the targeted person[38]—it has been called the Ninja bomb and the Flying Ginsu.[38] It is intended to reduce collateral damage when targeting specific people.[39] Deployed in secret in 2017, its existence has been public since 2019. This variant was used in the killings of Jamal Ahmad Mohammad Al Badawi, accused mastermind of the 2000 USS Cole bombing, and Abu Khayr al-Masri, a member of Al-Qaeda's leadership.[40][41] The weapon has also been used in Syria,[42] and in Afghanistan against a Taliban commander.[43][44] It was used twice in 2020 against senior Al-Qaeda commanders in Syria; in September 2020 American officials estimated that it had been used in combat around six times.[45]

Launch vehicles and systems

Manned helicopters
Hellfire missiles on a United States Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra

Fixed-wing aircraft
Iraqi Air Force AC-208 Caravan launches a Hellfire missile

Patrol boats

Experimental platforms

The system has been tested for use on the Humvee 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 coastal assault boat.[54]

The US Navy was evaluating the missile for use on the Freedom-class littoral combat ship and Independence-class littoral combat ship from 2014.[55] The missile was successfully fired from a LCS in early 2017[56] This system is set to deploy by late 2019. [57]

In 2016 the Longbow Hellfire was tested by the US Army using a fifteen tube Multi-Mission Launcher 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.[58]

Operators
Map with Hellfire operators in blue

The following nations use the Hellfire:[59]

See also

References
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