Hellfire Missile

Hellfire Missile Latest News

The U.S. military fired a Hellfire missile at a tanker heading toward Iran recently as part of a blockade being imposed by President Donald Trump, who is pressing Tehran to negotiate a peace agreement on his terms.

About Hellfire Missile

• AGM-114 Hellfire is a short-range, air-to-ground, subsonic tactical missile.
• Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the Hellfire originates from the United States and entered service in 1984 as a potent anti-tank weapon. 
• It can also be used as an air-to-air weapon against helicopters or slow-moving fixed-wing aircraft.
• The missile is compatible with a wide array of platforms, including attack helicopters (AH-64 Apache), drones (MQ-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper), fighter jets, and ground launchers. 
• It is currently used by the United States military as well as 30 US allies.
• The Hellfire missile is capable of defeating any known tank in the world today. 
• The Hellfire family of missiles consists of 4 generations: the basic (AGM-114A, AGM-114B, AGM-114C) and the Anti-Ship-Missile (AShM) interim (AGM-114F), the Hellfire-2 (AGM-114K, AGM-114M, AGM-114N, AGM-114R), and the Longbow (AGM-114L). 

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Hellfire Missile Features

• AGM-114 missiles measure between 1.63-1.75 m in length, 0.178 m in diameter, and weigh 45-48.5 kg. 
• All Hellfire missiles are similar in shape in that they have a cylindrical body with a dome-shaped nose section that has four small clipped delta stabilising-fins in a cruciform configuration. 
• They have a range of 7-11 km while carrying a payload of 8-11 kg. 
• The missile flies at subsonic speeds to a maximum of Mach 1.3 (450 m/s).
• It is propelled by a single-stage solid-propellant solid-fuel rocket motor. 
• Its guidance options include laser, radar, and imaging infrared (IIR) systems, allowing for both fire-and-forget and semi-active targeting. 
• Its warheads are modular, supporting high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), fragmentation, and thermobaric payloads, making it effective against armored vehicles, bunkers, radar installations, and small naval vessels.

Source: TP