US Army to Deploy More Capable Hellfire from UAV
The U.S. Army is preparing to deploy a new Hellfire missile variant designed to launch from UAVs and be able to find targets in a much broader range of airspace.
Earlier Hellfires are programmed to fly to a point in space and are given a direct, high or low trajectory. They are also programmed to then begin looking for the energy from a laser-designated target within a fairly narrow 40-degree arc of airspace. The P model has a seeker that can find the laser reflections in a 180-degree arc, a senior Army civilian said.
"The P model is for higher-altitude engagement and is specially designed for line-of-sight and look-down angles, which allow the seeker head on the missile to see the target spot on the ground better," said Lee Tutin, U.S. Army munitions officer.
The P has flown in combat aboard Air Force Predators and is now preparing to fly with the Army, which is rapidly moving to add weapons to more of its UAVs. It is also designed to arm the Army's Extended Range Multi-Purpose Warrior UAV.
In addition, a still-in-development variant of the P missile has a new guidance unit with an inertial measurement unit that allows it to look for a laser spot in a much wider arc.
And when the new P variant arrives in the next 12 months, it will be able to find a spot anywhere around it, allowing a Hellfire-armed UAV to destroy a target it has already flown by.
"It will give an unmanned aerial vehicle a 360-degree engagement envelope around the aircraft. The missile will be able to fly behind the aircraft and engage a target behind it," said an Army program manager familiar with the Hellfire program.
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