Lockheed Martin has launched flight tests for a new and far more capable version of the AGM-114 Hellfire missile family.
An inert AGM-114R Hellfire II scored a direct hit on a target 5.1km (2.7nm) away in the first proof-of-principle flight test at Eglin AFB, Florida, says Lockheed.
Lockheed plans to perform two more proof-of-principle flight tests early next year using live versions of the AGM-114R's new multi-mode warheads.
The Hellfire II family, an acronym for "helicopter fire and forget", is designed to hit four different types of targets - armour, air defence, caves and maritime, Lockheed says. Previously, a different version of the missile was required to hit each type of target, but the AGM-114R can hit all four.
Aircraft crews "won't have to decide ahead of time what they might encounter and load the appropriate combination of missiles", says Ken Musculus, director of air-to ground missile systems programmes at Lockheed.
A new inertial measurement unit guidance system also allows helicopter or unmanned air vehicle gunners to fire at targets behind them without turning the aircraft around, Lockheed says.
Software changes were mostly required to make the new missile work, but other changes included replacing circuit boards and transistors, the company says.
Source: Flight International
