TheAGM-114 Hellfire is an Americanmissile developed foranti-armor use,[6] later developed forprecision[7]drone strikes against other target types, especiallyhigh-value targets.[8] It was originally developed under the name "Heliborne laser,fire-and-forget missile", which led to the colloquial name "Hellfire" ultimately becoming the missile's formal name.[9] It has a multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike ability and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms, including theMQ-1 Predator andMQ-9 Reaper. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100-pound (45 kg) class air-to-ground precision weapon for the armed forces of the United States and many other countries. It has also been fielded on surface platforms in the surface-to-surface and surface-to-air roles.[10]
Most variants arelaser-guided, with one variant, the AGM-114L "Longbow Hellfire", being radar-guided.[11][12] Laser guidance can be provided either from the launcher, such as the nose-mounted opto-electronics of theAH-64 Apache attack helicopter, other airborne target designators or from ground-based observers,[13] the latter two options allowing the launcher to break line of sight with the target and seek cover.[14]
Cockpit video showing a Hellfire missile being fired at two people in Afghanistan (at 1:42)
The Hellfire II, developed in the early 1990s is a modular missile system with several variants, and entered service with the U.S. Army in 1996.[17] Hellfire II's semi-active laser variants—AGM-114Khigh-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), AGM-114KII with external blast fragmentation sleeve, AGM-114M (blast fragmentation), and AGM-114Nmetal augmented charge (MAC)—achieve pinpoint accuracy by homing in on a reflected laser beam aimed at the target. TheGeneral Atomics MQ-1 Predator andMQ-9 Reaperunmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) carry the Hellfire II, but the most common platform is the helicopter gunship, such as theAH-64 Apache orAH-1 Cobra, which can carry up to 16 of them each.The AGM-114L, or Longbow Hellfire, is afire-and-forget weapon: equipped with millimeter-wave (MMW)active radar homing, it requires no further guidance after launch—even being able to lock on to its target after launch[18]—and can hit its target without the launcher or other friendly unit being in line of sight of the target. It also works in adverse weather and battlefield obscurants, such as smoke and fog, which can mask the position of a target or prevent a designating laser from forming a detectable reflection. Each Hellfire weighs 104 pounds (47 kg), including the 20-pound (9 kg) warhead, and has a range of 4.4–6.8 miles (7.1–11 km) depending on trajectory.[19] The Hellfire has aCircular Error Probable (CEP) of less than 3 feet (0.91 m).[20]
The AGM-114R "Romeo" Hellfire II entered service in late 2012. It uses a semi-active laser homing guidance system and a K-charge multipurpose warhead[21][22] to engage targets that formerly needed multiple Hellfire variants. It will replace AGM-114K, M, N, and P variants in U.S. service.[23]
In October 2012, the U.S. ordered 24,000 Hellfire II missiles, for both the U.S. armed forces and foreign customers.[24]
A possible new JCM successor called theJoint Air to Ground Missile (JAGM) is under consideration. Due to budget reductions, JAGM development was separated into increments, with increment 1 focusing on adding a millimeter-wave radar to the Hellfire-R to give it a dual-mode seeker, enabling it to track moving targets in bad weather.[25][26]
M1A1 Abrams main battle tank destroyed byfriendly fire in 1991 Gulf War; one Abrams is thought to have been accidentally set on fire by a Hellfire missile fired from anApache helicopter.[27]
The AGM-114 has occasionally been used as anair-to-air missile. The first operational air-to-air kill with a Hellfire took place on 24 May 2001, after a civilianCessna 152 aircraft entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, with unknown intentions and refusing to answer or comply withATC repeated warnings to turn back. An Israeli Air Force AH-64A Apache helicopter fired on the Cessna, resulting in its complete disintegration.[35][36]
In January 2016The Wall Street Journal reported that one training missile without a warhead was accidentally shipped to Cuba in 2014 after a training mission in Europe;[37] it was later returned.[38] A US official said that this was an inert "dummy" version of the Lockheed system stripped of its warhead, fuse, guidance equipment and motor, known as a "Captive Air Training Missile".[39][40]
AGM-114 Ground Launched Hellfire-Light (GLH-L) missile system on a modified HMMWV chassisIsraeli Air Force Squadron 190 AH-64A Peten Launched Hellfire missile,Gaza–Israel clashes (November 2018)
Hellfire II missile exposed through a transparent casing, showing laser homingguidance system in front, copper coneshaped charge explosive in middle, propulsion in the rear
The M36 is an inert device used for training in the handling of the Hellfire. It includes an operational laser seeker.[49]
AGM-114R-9X
The Hellfire R-9X is a Hellfire variant with akinetic warhead with pop-outblades instead ofexplosives, used against specific human targets. Its lethality is due to 100 lb (45 kg) of dense material with six blades flying at high speed, to crush and cut the targeted person[50]—the R-9X has also been referred to as the "Ninja Missile"[51] and "FlyingGinsu".[50] It is intended to reduce collateral damage whentargeting specific people.[52] Deployed in secret in 2017, its existence has been public since 2019. This variant was used in the killing in 2017 ofAbu Khayr al-Masri, a member ofAl-Qaeda's leadership, and in 2019 ofJamal Ahmad Mohammad Al Badawi, accused mastermind of the2000 USSCole bombing.[53][54] The weapon has also been used in Syria,[55] and in Afghanistan against aTaliban commander.[56][57] It was used twice in 2020 against senior al-Qaeda leaders in Syria; in September 2020 US officials estimated that it had been used in combat six times.[58][59][60][61][62]
Hellfire missiles fired by aReaper drone were used on 31 July 2022 tokill Ayman al-Zawahiri,[63][7] the leader of Al-Qaeda, who had previously been involved in planning the9/11 and other attacks on US targets. It was reported that the missile hit him on a balcony, causing minimal collateral damage. Reports stress that avoiding other casualties was a priority for the mission, following drone attacks that killed several uninvolved people, attracting much criticism. It is widely thought that the Hellfires were the R-9X variant, but aUnited States Special Operations Command spokesman declined to comment, while confirming that the R9X was "in US Special Operations Command's munitions inventory".[64][65]
Images of the aftermath of a US attack on a member ofKata'ib Hezbollah (claimed to be Abu Baqir al-Saadi byHezbollah affiliated reports) suggests an R-9X was used.[66] The nature and announcement of the attack has ledHoward Altman to suggest the weapon system is made more widely available to US forces.[66] In December 2024 an R-9X appears to have been used near Idlib.[67]
In late February 2025 the US government made video of an R-9X in action public for the first time; the missile was used byCENTCOM to kill the senior commander of Al-Qaeda affiliateHurras al-Din in Northwest Syria.[68]
The system has been tested for use on theHumvee and theImproved TOW Vehicle (ITV). Test shots have also been fired from aC-130 Hercules. Sweden and Norway use the Hellfire for coastal defense and have conducted tests with Hellfire launchers mounted on theCombat Boat 90 coastal assault boat.[77]
The US Navy evaluated the missile for use on theFreedom-class littoral combat ship andIndependence-class littoral combat ship from 2014.[78] The missile was successfully fired from a LCS in early 2017.[79] This system is set to deploy by late 2019.[80]
The Longbow Hellfire initially equipped the Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) version of theStryker to serve as a surface-to-air counter-drone missile,[10] but in 2024 the U.S. Army prohibited its use on the platform after discovering that prolonged placement of the missiles on a ground vehicle created wear and tear that lead to potential safety concerns.[82]
^Weapon Systems. Department of the Army, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development, and Acquisition. 1998. pp. 125, 215.ISBN978-0-16-049429-1. Retrieved19 September 2023.
^Spring 2014 Industry Study(PDF), National Defence University, Fort McNair, Washington, DC, p. 10,archived(PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022,The component that ... propels the Hellfire is the Thiokol TX-657.
^Hallion, Richard P. (2018). "Chapter 4: Science, Technology and Air Warfare". In Olsen, John Andreas (ed.).Routledge Handbook of Air Power. Routledge. p. 52.ISBN978-1-315-20813-8.
^abWeapon Systems. Department of the Army, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development, and Acquisition. 1998. p. 215.ISBN978-0-16-049429-1. Retrieved19 September 2023.
^Kasinoff, Laura; Mazzetti, Mark; Cowell, Alan (30 September 2011)."U.S.-Born Qaeda Leader Killed in Yemen".The New York Times.Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved26 February 2017.
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Australia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Egypt
France
Greece[84]
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Israel[85]
Italy
Jordan
Morocco
Japan
Kuwait
Lebanon[86]
Netherlands
Norway
Pakistan
Qatar
Republic of Korea
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Spain
Sweden,Robot 17[87]
Taiwan (Republic of China)
Tunisia[88]
Turkey
Ukraine,Robot 17[89]
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
