AGM-114 Hellfire

I was wondering why the Hellfire was never mounted on many ground attack aircraft...They seem compact enough to be carried in fairly large clusters but the AGM-65 Maverick is superior anyway...then why was the Maverick never mounted on AH-64?

IMO a Attack Helicopter would be a good platform for such weapons, but what do I know, i'm no aircraft engineer...

I think the Maverick is too big to be mounted on a Apache. They are huge 8 feet, 2 inches long and with a Weight From 462 pounds to 670 pounds thats way bigger then a Hellfire at about a 100 lbs and a Hellfire will kill any known tank. So even if it could mount a Maverick you get many more shots with the smaller hellfires.

"Hellfire missiles have been cleared for carriage on AH-64 Apache, AH-1W SuperCobra, MD-530 Defender, OH-58D Kiowa, SH-60/HH-60 Seahawk and UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters. In addition, integration trials have been made with the A 129 Mangusta, BO 105, Lynx and S-70 Seahawk helicopters. Other air-launched applications considered include; RAH-66 Comanche, SA 342 Gazelle, AS 532 Cougar and UH-1 helicopters and A-10, AV-8B Harrier, AC-130 Hercules, F-4 Phantom, F-5E Tiger II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, Harrier and OV-10D Bronco aircraft."

Thats one good missile
[url=http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/news/jalw/jalw001013_1_n.shtml]http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/news/jalw/jalw001013_1_n.shtml[/ur l]

You also left out the predator. Those Al Quada guys in Africa who fot thier car toasted by one will never forget either

RQ-1 PREDATOR� HELLFIRE MISSILE TESTS �TOTALLY SUCCESSFUL�.

26 February 2001 -- San Diego, California. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), a leading manufacturer of unmanned aircraft surveillance systems, is pleased to announce the re-release of the following article published and written by Ms. Sue Baker, Aeronautical Systems Center, Public Affairs, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio), USAF:

Aerospace history was made Feb. 21 with the successful launch of a live missile from an unmanned aerial vehicle. The Air Force�s Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program is evolving from a non-lethal, reconnaissance asset, to an armed, highly accurate tank-killer, according to senior program officials from Air Combat Command (ACC) at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) here.

Hellfire

Hellfire is primarly a helicopter launched weapon, but the A-10 Warthog can also carry it. Go look up he ordenance tables!

Tim
ATS Director of Counter-Ignorance

Originally posted by ghost
Hellfire is primarly a helicopter launched weapon, but the A-10 Warthog can also carry it. Go look up he ordenance tables!

Really?

What kind of pallet does it carry it with? What is the designation source? What are the limits on launching the weapon?

Here is the official loadout for the A-10A/OA-10A

One 30 mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun; up to 16,000 pounds (7,200 kilograms) of mixed ordnance on eight under-wing and three under-fuselage pylon stations, including 500 pound (225 kilograms) Mk-82 and 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) Mk-84 series low/high drag bombs, incendiary cluster bombs, combined effects munitions, mine dispensing munitions, AGM-65 Maverick missiles and laser-guided/electro-optically guided bombs; infrared countermeasure flares; electronic countermeasure chaff; jammer pods; 2.75-inch (6.99 centimeters) rockets; illumination flares and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.

Originally posted by FredT
You also left out the predator. Those Al Quada guys in Africa who fot thier car toasted by one will never forget either

Great point cant believe I forgot all about that man I dont even want to think what one of those does to a car. Seeing what they do to tanks aint pretty.

I dont even think the Predator was created to be armed but who ever decided to see if they could fire weapons was smart and made it more deserving of the name Predator.

MQ-9 Predator B is going to be the first UCAV it seems:

The Predator B has an operational ceiling of 50,000ft and a maximum internal payload of 800lb and external payload of over 3,000lb. Predator B has been flight tested with Hellfire II anti-armour missiles and can carry up to 14 missiles. Flight trials have also taken place with the General Atomics Lynx SAR (synthetic aperture radar) payload. Lynx also features ground moving target indicator technology. The USAF has also ordered two versions of Predator B with turbofan jet engines. The Predator is to be flight tested with a L-3 Communications Tactical Common Datalink (TCDL). In August 2004, Predator B successfully dropped a Paveway II (GBU-12) laser-guided bomb on a stationary ground target.

www.airforce-technology.com...

sounds like it's becoming quite a killer...

I never realized the A-10 could carry Hellifires! makes sense though...







www.airforce-technology.com...

Presently, there is no need to put a Maverick on an Apache launch platform. If somebody comes up with a new kind of tank with kickass armor, then there will be a need to put mavericks on Apaches, because no matter how big your tank is, the Maverick Shaped Charge will put a major dent in it by probably decapitating the turret from the main frame assembly.

Damn - 14 hell fires on the Predator? Good lord that is a lot of stoping power.

A dozen of these things will be taking out whole armour divisions

Here in da poor old country that is the UK :-)

We have a missile that is a lot like the Hellfire the brimstore but is design for anti-tank of any plane in the RAF. The missiles are loaded on triple racks so the Typhoon can carry 18 and the Tornado can carry 12+ :-)

a link: www.fas.org...

all good clean fun! IT's da bomb!

Actually that's exactly what made me think of this...the Brimstone...

I can remember seeing a pod system that housed ATGM's...I think it was either the Hydra-2 or something Russian?