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Hellfire II cutaway
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The Lockheed Martin/ Boeing joint venture Hellfire Systems LLC in Orlando, FL received a $356.7 million firm-fixed price contract for “Hellfire II High-Energy Anti-Tank missiles.” Work will be performed in Orlando, FL and is expected to be complete by Oct 31/11. One bid was solicited on Oct 22/07 by the U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

The DefenseLINK release is almost certainly referring to the AGM-114K Hellfire II missile, but Lockheed Martin spokespeople add that the contract also includes options for up to 200 training missiles, for additional orders in FY 2009 and 2010, for Foreign Military Sales buyers, and for variant warheads. If exercised, those options could increase the contract’s value to over $1 billion, and secure Hellfire missile production until 2013.

• Lockheed Martin’s Hellfires
• A Sticky Situation: Lockheed’s (I)TAR Baby

Lockheed Martin’s Hellfires

Hellfire II tripod
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Hellfire missiles are the USA’s preferred aerial anti-armor missile, and are widely deployed with America’s allies. All use semi-active laser guidance as their base mode. They equip its helicopter fleets (AH-64, AH-1, OH-58D, MH-60S/R), AH-64 and S-70 helicopters flown by its allies, and even Australia and France’s Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters. Range is listed as 9,000 meters, or about 5.6 miles.

While Hellfires lack the fast-jet launch capabilities – and correspondingly extended maximum range – of the UK’s MBDA Brimstone missiles, Lockheed Martin’s missile has carved out unique niches as tripod-launched coastal defense assets in Norway and Sweden, and as the guided missile integrated into American UAVs like the MQ-1 Predator family.

The AGM-114K is the basic Hellfire II missile; it uses a shaped-charge HEAT warhead that can destroy armored vehicles, or punch into buildings. The recently-introduced AGM-114K-A variant adds blast fragmentation to the HEAT warhead’s anti-tank capability, giving it added versatility against unarmored targets in the open. The AM-114M version was originally developed for the Navy; its warhead is solely blast fragmentation, which is effective against boats, lightly armored vehicles, et. al. The AGM-114N variant uses a thermobaric (fuel-air/ “metal augmented charge”) warhead that can suck the air out of a cave, collapse a building, or produce an astoundingly large blast radius out in the open.

Two versions feature key changes that aren’t related to their warheads. The AGM-114L “Longbow Hellfire” adds a millimeter-wave radar seeker, and is integrated with the mast-mounted radar on AH-64D helicopters. The AGM-114P variant is modified for use from UAVs flying at altitude.

See also: Lockheed Martin release.

A Sticky Situation: Lockheed’s (I)TAR Baby

The Hellfire missile also made the news recently in a different capacity. Lockheed Martin discovered that efforts to sell 460 more Hellfire missiles to the UAE in 2003-2004 had crossed the line, by failing to get proper ITAR approvals beforehand for certain discussions, and by divulging classified missile-related information to a UAE Air Force officer in response to questions.

The UAE was already a Hellfire customer at that time, but that does not remove the procedural requirements, and weapon export requirements are taken very seriously by all concerned.

Lockheed Martin discovered the mistakes itself, and informed the US Department of State, which manages ITAR. The final settlement involves a $4 million fine, with $1 million of that suspended if Lockheed Martin meets certain criteria for improved internal compliance measures. Reuters | NY Times’ International Herald-Tribune