Hellfire II is the third version of semi-active laser-guided (SAL) missiles within the Air-to-Ground Missile System (AGMS) family of heliborne anti-armor weapons. The Basic Hellfire with a single shaped-charge warhead was fielded with the AH-64A Apache attack helicopter in the early 1980s. The Interim Hellfire with the Interim Hellfire Warhead (IHW) added a tandem shaped-charge warhead and increased the basic missile length. Hellfire II incorporates many improvements over the Interim Hellfire missile. It addresses the laser obscurant/backscatter problem identified during Operation Desert Storm and incorporates other improvements such as electro-optical countermeasure hardening, an improved target reacquisition capability, an advanced technology warhead system capable of defeating reactive armor configurations projected into the 21st century, reprogrammability to adapt to changing threats and mission requirements, and it is shipboard compatible. Laser Hellfire missiles home on a laser spot that can be projected from ground observers, other aircraft, or the launching aircraft itself.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The first generation of the laser Hellfire missile is presently used as the main armament of the U. S. Army's AH-64A Apache and the U. S. Marine Corps' AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters. The second generation missile is currently available for deployment. The Hellfire II missile will be complemented with the Longbow Radio Frequency (RF) Hellfire missile when the AH-64D Longbow Apache is fielded. The RF missile will provide an adverse weather, fire-and-forget capability for the Apache helicopter.
A Limited User Test (LUT) was conducted in 1993, wherein two of three missiles missed their targets. One miss was a reliability failure and the other occurred in a heavy dust environment. This poor performance, coupled with DOT&E concerns over the reliability of the Electronic Safe, Arm, and Fire (ESAF) device, prompted the Army to address missile and ESAF reliability in a follow-on LUT.
OT&E ACTIVITY
The Army performed the follow-on LUT in March 1995. Soldiers fired five missiles from an AH-64A Apache helicopter and all five missiles hit their targets. One of the shots was fired in dust. All five ESAFs performed correctly. The Army also performed integration tests of the Hellfire II with OH-58D Kiowa Warrior and AH-1W Cobra helicopters. Soldiers fired five more missiles from these aircraft and four of them hit their targets. All four ESAFs on missiles that hit their targets performed correctly. The missile that missed was fired at the edge of the Hellfire range envelope and fell short of the target. ESAF data were not available on the missed shot.
