Aug 31 2010
Designer and manufacturer of advanced technology systems, Lockheed Systems had successfully tested the AGM114R HELLFIRE II missile by targeting and destroying a stationary target. The ground-launch missile test was set to make a launch from an UAS (unmanned aerial system). The R-model missile includes a multi-purpose warhead, which allows covering all target sets of the present laser-guided variants, with one HELLFIRE missile.
Hellfire II Missile
A team of members from the U.S. Army Joint Attack Munitions Systems program and Lockheed Martin carried out the test at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The missile was deployed to strike an immobile M60 tank at 6.4 km downrange. Before the missile launch, test devices, imitating an airborne UAS platform, sent warhead delay selection instructions and targeting data to the HELLFIRE II missile.
The HELLFIRE II missile was deployed in lock-on-after-launch mode to simulate a UAS launch. The missile used its target data and inertial measurement system to fly to the target location before searching for the laser signal, which is produced by the target laser based on the ground. It obtained the laser spot and hit the tank target at few inches away from the laser aimpoint.
Lockheed Martin’s director of the Air-to-Ground Missile System programs, Ken Musculus stated that the HELLFIRE missile can fly to a region before obtaining a target, allowing a high-altitude platform to hit targets without much maneuvering.