December 27, 2015: Strategy Page

The United States recently increased production of its AGM-114 Hellfire missile from 500 to 650 a month. Further increases are planned for 2016. The reason for this is the success Hellfire has had in fighting ISIL (al Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant). Hellfire has been continually improved since the 1980s and now can hit moving targets with great precision. Since ISIL tries to stay mobile and dispersed Hellfire has turned out to be the best weapon to fight them with, especially if you want to avoid civilian casualties. It’s not just American demand for Hellfire that is causing the shortage but also the growing list of other users. Currently South Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, France, Italy and Britain have Hellfire on order and they are being told they will have to wait a bit.

Hellfire remains the missile with the track record that you can always depend on and more nations are realizing it. Because of that more recent smaller missiles like Griffin and 70mm guided rockets just never caught on in a big way. In service since 1984, the Hellfire missile has not only proved enormously useful in the war on terror, it has also defeated numerous efforts to replace it with something better. It didn’t help that an improved Hellfire, Hellfire II, appeared in 1994 and over 32,000 have been produced so far. These have been the most frequently used American missiles, with over 18,000 fired in training or (mostly) combat since 2001. Hellfire missiles cost about $100,000 each depending on warhead and guidance system options.

Britain produces a Hellfire variant, called Brimstone which is unique mainly in that it can be fire from jets. This version has become very popular as well. Hellfire was originally designed for use by helicopter gunships against masses of Cold War era Russian tanks. That never happened, except in Kuwait during the 1991 war against Russian tanks owned by Iraq. Hellfire was quite successful in Kuwait. With the end of the Cold War the Hellfire seemed destined for the history books, as just another missile that worked but never distinguished itself. This all changed in 2002 when the CIA first used a Hellfire fired from a Predator UAV to kill a hard-to-find terrorist. The U.S. Air Force wasn’t really interested in this sort of thing and the CIA used its own money and authority to buy Predator UAVs and arm them with Hellfires. It quickly became apparent that the air force was wrong about UAVs and, well, the Hellfire was an army weapon used on helicopters and the air force never considered such a combination of UAV and missile useful for anything. The army soon found that Hellfire was an excellent weapon for supporting troops in urban areas or when going after terrorists anywhere.

Nov 4, 2015 ASDNews Source : Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)

The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of France for Hellfire Missiles and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $30 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on November 3, 2015.

The Government of France has requested a possible sale of two-hundred (200) AGM-114K1A Hellfire Missiles; Hellfire Missile conversion kits; blast fragmentation sleeves and installation kits; containers; and transportation. The estimated cost of MDE is $25 million. The total estimated cost is $30 million.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the capability of a NATO ally. France is a major political and economic power in Europe and a key democratic partner of the United States in ensuring peace and stability around the world. It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist France to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability.

The additional missiles will meet France's operational requirements for a precisionguided tactical missile for its Tigre Attack Helicopter. The purchase will directly support French forces actively engaged in operations in Mali and Northern Africa, providing them the capability to successfully engage targets with minimal collateral damage. France will have no difficulty absorbing these missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

There is no principal contractor for this sale as the missiles are coming from U.S. Army stock. There are no known offset agreements in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives in France.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

source Strategy Page

An AGM-114B Hellfire missile is launched from an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Eight (HSC-8), during a live fire exercise in San Clemente, Calif., Feb. 4, 2015. HSC-8 provides vertical lift Search and Rescue, Logistics, Anti-Surface Warfare, Special Operations Forces Support, and Combat Search and Rescue capabilities for Carrier Air Wing Eleven (CVW-11) in support of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and Carrier Strike Group Eleven (CSG-11) operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel M. Young/Released)

April 6, 2014:  Strategy Page

Turkey recently conducted a successful test of its Hellfire clone, the Mizrak-U. With a range of 8 kilometers the Turkish missile can use either an infrared imaging guidance system or laser homing. Turkey becomes one of a growing list of nations that have produced their own version of the Hellfire. Britain produces a Hellfire variant, called Brimstone which is unique mainly in that it can be fire from jets. This version has become very popular as well. Several other countries, like China, have produced missiles similar in weight, size and capabilities to the Hellfire. Now Turkey is doing so as well.

The American AGM-114 Hellfire missile entered service since 1984 and proved enormously useful in the war on terror. An improved Hellfire II appeared in 1994 and over 30,000 have been produced so far. The Hellfire II weighs 48.2 kg (106 pounds), carries a 9 kg (20 pound) warhead and has a range of 8,000 meters. These have been the most frequently used American missiles for over a decade, with over 16,000 fired in training or (mostly) combat since 2001. A growing number of these Hellfires are for foreign customers. Hellfire missiles cost about $100,000 each depending on warhead and guidance system options.

Hellfire was originally designed for use by helicopter gunships against masses of Cold War era Russian tanks. That never happened, except in Kuwait during the 1991 war against Russian tanks owned by Iraq. Hellfire was quite successful in Kuwait. With the end of the Cold War the Hellfire seemed destined for the history books, as just another missile that worked but never distinguished itself. This all changed in 2002 when the CIA first used a Hellfire fired from a Predator UAV to kill a hard-to-find terrorist. The U.S. Air Force wasn’t really interested in this sort of thing and the CIA used its own money and authority to buy Predator UAVs and arm them with Hellfires. It quickly became apparent that the air force was wrong about UAVs and, well, the Hellfire was an army weapon used on helicopters and the air force never considered such a combination of UAV and missile useful for anything. The army soon found that Hellfire was an excellent weapon for supporting troops in urban areas or when going after terrorists anywhere.

Turkey plans to use Mizrak-U on its new T129 helicopter gunship. This aircraft is based on the Italian A129 which is roughly comparable to the upgraded versions of the U.S. AH-1 (especially the AH-1W SuperCobra). The 4.6 ton A-129 was the first helicopter gunship designed and built in Western Europe and was introduced in the 1980s. While it has been upgraded frequently, the only customer so far has been Italy, which bought 60 of them. The manufacturer, Agusta/Westland, has been desperate to get an export customer and made a deal for Turkey to produce over a hundred T129s under license.