Aerial WarfareMilitary Ordnance

Lockheed Martin Awarded $101 Million Contract to Provide Hellfire II Missiles for Indonesia Greece United Arab Emirates and Kuwait

240
AGM-114R Hellfire II is an air-to-ground missile
AGM-114R Hellfire II is an air-to-ground missile

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $101,332,412 modification to contract for procurement of AGM-114 Hellfire II Air-to-surface missiles and containers. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2024. Fiscal 2019, 2020 and 2021 procurement, defense-wide funds; and 2010 Foreign Military Sales (Indonesia, Greece, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait) funds in the amount of $101,332,412 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

The AGM-114 Hellfire 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.” 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. It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike ability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms, including the Predator drone.

AGM-114 Hellfire Missile
AGM-114 Hellfire II Air-to-surface missile

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.Most variants are laser guided, 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 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 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. 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. 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 previously needed multiple Hellfire variants. It will replace AGM-114K, M, N, and P variants in U.S. service.

Exit mobile version