Editing AGM-114 Hellfire (section)

==Description==
Most variants are [[Laser guidance|laser-guided]], with one variant, the AGM-114L "Longbow Hellfire", being radar-guided.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maini |first1=Anil K. |title=Handbook of Defence Electronics and Optronics: Fundamentals, Technologies and Systems |date=26 March 2018 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-18471-3 |pages=266–267 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3lpTDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.es.northropgrumman.com/solutions/longbowmissile/ |title=AGM-114L Longbow Missile |access-date=27 September 2011 |at=(shows that the L variant is called Longbow) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320101743/http://www.es.northropgrumman.com/solutions/longbowmissile/ |archive-date=20 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Laser guidance can be provided either from the launcher, such as the nose-mounted opto-electronics of the [[AH-64 Apache]] attack helicopter, other airborne target designators or from ground-based observers,<ref name="WeaponSystems"/> the latter two options allowing the launcher to break line of sight with the target and seek cover.<ref>{{cite book |last1=United States Congressional Budget Office |last2=Hughes |first2=G. Philip |title=U.S. Air and Ground Conventional Forces for NATO: Firepower Issues |date=1978 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7fv6DhOthYC&dq=hellfire+laser+ground+observers&pg=PA28 |access-date=19 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:US pilot mock-sings as missile hits target.theora.ogv|left|thumb|Cockpit video showing a Hellfire missile being fired at two people in Afghanistan (at 1:42)]]

The development of the Hellfire Missile System began in 1974 with the [[United States Army]] requirement for a "[[Anti-tank warfare|tank-buster]]", launched from [[helicopter]]s to defeat [[armored fighting vehicle]]s.<ref>{{cite report |last1=United States Congress Senate Committee on Armed Services |title=Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Armed Services |date=1975 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=4660–4662 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8J43AAAAIAAJ |access-date=19 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realmilitaryflix.com/public/748.cfm |title=Introduction of the Hellfire – A Revolutionary Weapon to defeat the Soviet Armor Threat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131222019/http://www.realmilitaryflix.com/public/748.cfm |archive-date=31 January 2009}}. Official US Army video at Real Military Flix.</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hellfire |url=https://history.redstone.army.mil/miss-hellfire.html |website=Redstone Arsenal Historical Information}}</ref> Hellfire II's semi-active laser variants—AGM-114K [[high-explosive anti-tank]] (HEAT), AGM-114KII with external blast fragmentation sleeve, AGM-114M (blast fragmentation), and AGM-114N [[Thermobaric weapon|metal augmented charge]] (MAC)—achieve pinpoint accuracy by homing in on a reflected laser beam aimed at the target. The [[General Atomics MQ-1 Predator]] and [[MQ-9 Reaper]] [[unmanned combat aerial vehicle]]s (UCAVs) carry the Hellfire&nbsp;II, but the most common platform is the helicopter gunship, such as the [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|AH-64 Apache]] or [[Bell AH-1 Cobra|AH-1 Cobra]], which can carry up to 16 of them each. The AGM-114L, or Longbow Hellfire, is a [[fire-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<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.es.northropgrumman.com/solutions/longbowmissile/ |title=AGM-114L Longbow Missile |access-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320101743/http://www.es.northropgrumman.com/solutions/longbowmissile/ |archive-date=20 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>—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 {{convert|47|kg|lb|order=flip}}, including the {{convert|9|kg|lb|order=flip|adj=on}} warhead, and has a range of {{convert|7.1|-|11|km|mi|order=flip}} depending on trajectory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army-technology.com/projects/hellfire-ii-missile/|title=AGM-114 Hellfire II Missile|website=Army Technology|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-04-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420215846/https://www.army-technology.com/projects/hellfire-ii-missile/|archive-date=20 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The Hellfire has a [[Circular Error Probable]] (CEP) of less than {{convert|3|ft|m}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Price |first=Brian |date=1998 |title=Surf Zone Obstacle Clearing by Use of Smart Weapons |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA537612.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207225500/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA537612.pdf |archive-date=7 December 2023 |access-date=30 November 2023 |website=Defense Technical Information Center}}</ref>

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<ref>{{cite web |title=Multi-Purpose Shaped Charge Warheads |url=https://www.gd-ots.com/missiles-and-rockets/warheads-and-payloads/multi-purpose-shaped-charge-warheads/ |website=General Dynamics Ordinance and Tactical Systems |access-date=27 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727085134/https://www.gd-ots.com/missiles-and-rockets/warheads-and-payloads/multi-purpose-shaped-charge-warheads/ |archive-date=27 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=K-charge—a multipurpose shaped charge warhead |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US6393991B1/en |website=Google patents |access-date=27 July 2018}}</ref> to engage targets that formerly needed multiple Hellfire variants. It will replace AGM-114K, M, N, and P variants in U.S. service.<ref>[http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/2012/04/hellfire-romeo-long-lead-items.html Army and Lockheed Martin prepare for production of advanced laser-guided Hellfire missile]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524042236/http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/2012/04/hellfire-romeo-long-lead-items.html |date=24 May 2014}} - Militaryaerospace.com, 10 April 2012.</ref>

In October 2012, the U.S. ordered 24,000 Hellfire&nbsp;II missiles, for both the U.S. armed forces and foreign customers.<ref>[http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairw/articles/20121019.aspx Hella Lotta Hellfires]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021025200/http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairw/articles/20121019.aspx |date=21 October 2012}}. Strategypage.com, 19 October 2012.</ref>

A possible new JCM successor called the [[Joint Air to Ground Missile]] (JAGM) is under consideration. Due to budget reductions, JAGM development was separated into increments, with increment&nbsp;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.<ref>[http://aviationweek.com/awin/army-reduces-scope-tri-mode-jagm Army Reduces Scope Of Tri-Mode JAGM]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520004935/http://aviationweek.com/awin/army-reduces-scope-tri-mode-jagm |date=20 May 2014}}. ''Aviation Week'', 27 August 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://aviationweek.com/awin-only/hellfire-replacement-step-closer-draft-jagm-rfp |title=Hellfire Replacement Step Closer With Draft JAGM RFP |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826160845/http://aviationweek.com/awin-only/hellfire-replacement-step-closer-draft-jagm-rfp |archive-date=26 August 2014 |publisher=Aviationweek.com}}</ref>