Alenia Marconi Systems and Boeing carried out the first live firing of the Brimstone anti-armour weapon on 12 August. The trial, at the US Yuma Proving Grounds, follows carriage and jettison tests on a Panavia Tornado GR1. Airborne firings will follow later this year. Boosted, non-guided firings will be conducted in the UK. The Brimstone is a development of the US-built AGM-114 Hellfire with a UK-developed millimetre wave radar seeker. The missile also employs UK-developed algorithms which allow the Brimstone to differentiate between tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other targets. Initial employment will be with the Tornado GR4/4A and British Aerospace Harrier from 2001and the Eurofighter from 2004.
Source: Flight International