AGM-114 Hellfire
| AGM-114 Hellfire | |
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| General Information | |
| Type | Air-to-surface missile and surface-to-surface missile |
| Local name | AGM-114 Hellfire |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| development | Rockwell International |
| Working time | 1984 until today |
| Unit price | US $ 110,000 |
| Technical specifications | |
| length | 1630 mm |
| diameter | 178 mm |
| Combat weight | 45.4 kg to 49 kg |
| span | 330 mm |
| drive | Solid rocket engine |
| speed | 1530 km / h (Mach 1.3) |
| Range | 500 m to 8 km |
| Furnishing | |
| Target location | Laser guidance , MMW radar |
| Warhead |
High Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT); 9 kg tandem shaped charge Metal augmented charge (MAC); Shaped charge |
| Lists on the subject | |
The AGM-114 Hellfire ( English for ' Hellfire ') is an American air-to-surface missile for anti-tank defense . In the basic version the Hellfire uses a laser steering system , later versions have a radar search head . The main platforms for the Hellfire missile are the various attack helicopters in the arsenal of the US Army . With the Hellfire II , an optimized version of the original Hellfire system is now available. The AH-64 Apache Longbow-D (in the version with radar ) can also fire a radar-guided version of the Hellfire, which thus becomes a real fire-and-forget weapon, in which the attacker can target itself under optimal conditions doesn't even have to show. The laser-guided Hellfire missiles, on the other hand, require target illumination by a laser shortly before impact at the latest .
history
The development of the later AGM-114 began around 1970 with some studies regarding the requirement profile for a helicopter-based anti - tank missile . In 1976, the preparatory work was so far that a development contract could be concluded with the rocket manufacturer Rockwell International . This stipulated that the complete rockets should come from a single source - namely Rockwell. In this situation, competitor Martin Marietta offered the US Army a laser seeker head that was much cheaper to produce than Rockwell could build. So it was decided that Martin Marietta would supply the seeker and Rockwell the rest of the missile.
The first tests of the new rocket took place from the end of 1978 with helicopters of the type AH-1 Cobra and Bell UH-1 , and from 1979 the new AH-64 Apache was also included in the test program. In 1981 the rocket was ready for production and in 1985 it went into active service.
In addition to the AH-64 Apache and Bell OH-58 Kiowa , the AGM-114 is currently used by the US Marine Corps' AH-1 Cobra helicopters . The system is also approved for use with the UH-60 Blackhawk transport helicopter and the OH-6 Defender reconnaissance helicopter , even if this option has never been used in combat in recent years. Successful tests were also carried out with ground-based platforms such as the HMMWV off-road vehicle or the Improved TOW Vehicle (ITV). In early 2002, the AGM-114 was also successfully used on a RQ-1 Predator UAV drone . Towards the end of the year there was a media-heavy operation against suspected terrorists in Yemen ; it was the first time a remote-controlled drone launched an attack against an enemy target. A further developed joint air-to-ground version, the AGM-114R, was deployed in Baghdad on January 3, 2020 and killed the Iranian officer Qasem Soleimani and nine other people. The attack was announced in a Jan. 2 comment in the New York Times as a possibility and example of the moral implications of such operations.
The main contractors for the production of Hellfire missiles today are Boeing and Lockheed Martin . Each rocket costs about $ 58,000. The Hellfire's solid rocket motors are supplied by Orbital ATK . Sweden uses the missile for coastal defense (designation RBS-17 ), and both Israel and Egypt have bought the system.
The laser aiming device required to start the Hellfire was also built in a portable version for use by ground troops. This makes it possible for a ground unit to “illuminate” a target, for the aiming system of an attack helicopter to detect this signal and fight it with missiles without being able to see it. Another area of application for the Ground / Vehicular Laser Locator Designator (G / VLLD) device is the acquisition of precise distance information for field artillery batteries. The unit cost of the equipment built by Hughes Aircraft Corporation and Optic Electronic Corporation is $ 164,485. Selected field artillery battalions, armored cavalry and infantry units were equipped with them.
Hellfire versions
- AGM-114A - the Basic Hellfire was the first version of the missile delivered to combat battalions by Rockwell and Martin Marietta from 1984 . It has now been replaced for combat missions by the AGM-114C and newer versions, the remaining missiles are now used for combat training.
- AGM-114B - a variant procured by the US Navy and the US Marine Corps for ship-based use with a slightly improved laser finder and a new, almost smoke-free rocket motor.
- AGM-114C - The C version is the adaptation of the innovations introduced by the B version for the US Army
- AGM-114F - this missile was an intermediate step between the Hellfire C and the Hellfire II, hence the name Interim Hellfire . It already has the two-stage warhead of the Hellfire II, with which reactive armor can also be penetrated.
- AGM-114K - also known as Hellfire II. This version has a further improved viewfinder that is less sensitive to possible countermeasures. There is also new software and a programmable autopilot, with which it is also possible to fly off-road . This variant has represented the state of the art in tactical air-to-surface missiles since 1993.
- AGM-114L - a Hellfire II with a millimeter wave radar based guidance system for use from the Longbow Apache. This version is the first real Fire and Forget Hellfire in the US arsenal. After launch, the rocket pursues its target completely independently, without having to rely on the firing aircraft.
- AGM-114N - Metal Augmented Charge (MAC) Thermobaric Hellfire. It is a " thermobaric weapon " in which PBXN-112 explosives are surrounded by aluminum powder. When the weapon explodes, the powder is distributed and quickly burns down. This leads to increased pressure and a longer pressure effect. The weapon is intended for use in urban regions and is intended to destroy several rooms in buildings. As of 2002, 65 warheads of this type were built. This type of model has been used by the US armed forces against the Taliban since 2005 . In June 2008 the British Times reported on the controversial use of this thermobaric weapon in Afghanistan under NATO ( ISAF ) command. Since there is no internationally standardized definition for the term “thermobar”, the British Ministry of Defense changed the term to “enhanced blast weapon” before the deployment in order to prevent possible criticism of the deployment.
- AGM-114M - corresponds to the AGM-114K, but with a conventional fragmentation charge instead of the tandem hollow charge.
- AGM-114R - an improved version of the AGM-114K Hellfire II. The heart of the new version is a new multi-purpose warhead, which should be suitable for a variety of different targets (armored vehicles, bunkers, "soft" targets). In addition, improvements should be made in other parameters such as the maximum possible launch height.
Start sequence
From the pilot's point of view, the Hellfire can be used in two different modes: target acquisition before take-off ( LOBL , Lock On Before Launch ) and target acquisition after take-off ( LOAL , Lock On After Launch ). However, this does not apply to the AGM-114L, as it generally operates according to the fire-and-forget principle and can be used without any line of sight to the target. In LOBL mode, the weapons officer aims at the target with the laser before the rocket is launched, then the pilot fires the rocket. While the missile is approaching, the line of sight between the helicopter and the target should not be interrupted, as otherwise the missile could lose the target. Of course, this also means a potentially higher risk for the aircraft crew. In LOAL mode, the missile is first fired without a target, after which it first rises to a certain height and then tries to find a target designation laser beam to steer towards. In this way, it is possible, for example, to fire the rocket from cover over a ridge of hills and only shortly before the rocket reaches the target to ascend, to illuminate and destroy the target. In both cases, the missile tries to approach the target in such a way that it hits from above, where the armor of most combat vehicles is thinner.
The Hellfire "disaster"
At the beginning of 2003 it became known that two-thirds of the Hellfire missiles in the US arsenal were afflicted with a serious flaw : when it was launched, parts of the missile could damage the helicopter. It looked at first as if this fact, the US plans to invade in Iraq could seriously jeopardize. Without support from combat helicopters, the armored forces of the US Army against the Iraqi armored divisions would have been left to their own devices or had to rely on support from the US Air Force .
The cause of the error found was a plastic component that sat in the rocket's jet pipe, which was normally intended to break up into many small pieces during takeoff and be ejected backwards. At around 10,000 AGM-114 from Hercules , however, this plug flew out of the pipe in larger pieces and then possibly hit the small stabilizer fins at the rear of the AH-64 Apache . Under certain conditions it was even possible for the plug to hit the tail rotor , which is a very dangerous situation in helicopters in general and often leads to crashes.
The problem was first observed during an exercise in Poland in 2000, but at that time the damage to the stabilizer fins was initially believed to have been caused by debris. Only in the course of further investigations was the real cause found. First, the order was issued that Hellfires should not be fired except in immediate emergencies (enemy attack). The exception to this were missiles on the outer right weapon pylon No. 4, the debris of which could not hit the tail rotor (the tail rotor of the Apache is on port, i.e. on the left). Impacts in the stabilizer fins were unpleasant, but manageable. A similar order was issued for the Bell OH-58 light attack helicopter , as Hellfires fired from port could damage the hull with their plugs. The missiles affected were classified as "limited combat fit". The new regulations were later relaxed so that the Apache crews were now allowed to fire a pair of Hellfires from the two outer pylons at intervals of three seconds. Appropriate deflectors should be installed on the Apaches and Kiowas to protect against rocket debris.
The cost of replacing all faulty rocket motors was estimated at just under $ 36 million. When the Iraq war broke out in 2003, a third had already been re-equipped so that the helicopters could again fire the missiles without restriction.
Technical specifications of the AGM-114K model
- Main function: laser-guided air-to-ground anti-tank missile
- Commissioning: 1985
- Speed: Mach 1.17 = 1445 km / h
- Range: 8 km
- Combat weight: 46 kg
- Propulsion: solid propellant Thiokol M120E1
- Length: 1.63 m
- Diameter: 0.18 m
- Span: 0.33 m
- Ignition: surcharge
- Warhead :
Carrier systems used
helicopter
- AgustaWestland A129CBT "Mangusta"
- Bell OH-58 D "Kiowa Warrior"
- Bell AH-1 T / W / Z "SuperCobra"
- Boeing AH-6 M (demonstration machine only)
- Boeing RAH-66 "Comanche" (project discontinued)
- Boeing AH-64A / D "Apache" or Westland WAH-64 "Apache"
- Eurocopter AS.555 "Fennec" (only equipment for demonstration machine)
- Eurocopter EC.665 "Tiger ARH"
- Sikorsky HH-60H / MH-60R "Seahawk"
- Sikorsky UH-60 DAP "Blackhawk"
Fixed wing aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-802 U
- Cessna AC-208 "Combat Caravan"
- Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 "Texan II" (planned)
- Lockheed KC-130J "Harvest Hawk"
- Rockwell OV-10 "Bronco"
Drones
- General Atomics MQ-1 B "Predator"
- General Atomics MQ-9 "Reaper"
- Northrop Grumman MQ-8 "Fire Scout" (planned)
Ships
- Combat Boat 90
- P6297 Hellfire Missile Boat
- Portable Ground Launch System
See also
Web links
- US Army documentation about the 1983 Hellfire ( Memento from July 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- AGM-114 at Designation System
- AGM-114 at Global Security
- AGM-114 at the Federation of American Scientists
Individual evidence
- ↑ GlobalSecurity.org: Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) ( accessed October 7, 2019)
- ↑ Hellfire II @ army-technology.com (English)
- ↑ AGM-114 HELLFIRE missile. boeing.com, accessed November 22, 2012 .
- ↑ Sebastien Roblin: Did The US Use New Joint Air-To-Ground Missile To Kill Iran's General Soleimani? Retrieved January 9, 2020 .
- ↑ Steven Simon: Opinion | Hypersonic Missiles Are a Game Changer . In: The New York Times . January 2, 2020, ISSN 0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed January 9, 2020]).
- ↑ https://www.northropgrumman.com/land/missile-products/ accessed on February 21, 2020
- ↑ AGM-114N Metal Augmented Charge (MAC) Thermobaric Hellfire on URL: http: //www.globalsecurity.org / ...
- ↑ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4187835.ece
- ↑ AGM-114 Hellfire II Missile, United States of America. army-technology.com, accessed November 22, 2012 .
- ↑ FirstLiveFlightHellfireII ( Memento from January 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive )