Navy Developed Urban Hellfire

Marine AH-1W SuperCobras on the first night of Operation Iraqi Freedom used AGM-114N Hellfire missiles with a new metal-augmented-charge (MAC) warhead designed, developed, and built at Naval Air Warfare Weapons Division, China Lake, California. The thermobaric Hellfire disclosed by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld in March was developed, qualified, and fielded in just 13 months.

Unlike standard anti-armor Hellfire warheads that produce a sharp pressure spike that decays rapidly, the MAC detonation provides a sustained pressure wave that propagates throughout a structure to extend the lethal effects. The 27.5 lb warhead has a fluorinated aluminum powder layered between the warhead casing and its explosive fill. When the PBXN-112 explosive detonates, the dispersed aluminum burns rapidly. The sustained high pressure is extremely effective against enemy personnel and structures.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) tasked NAVAIR China Lake to develop a new Hellfire warhead for urban operations in 2002. The Marine Corps requested China Lake fabricate 65 warheads, five for a Quick Reaction Assessment (QRA), and the remainder for operational units. The warheads were built and integrated at China Lake, then shipped to Redstone Technical Test Center, Alabama for installation on the missiles.

According to the US Army Aviation and Missile Command, potential acquisition requirements for the AGM-114N are under discussion within the Department of the Army, but have not yet been validated. AMCOM is also in discussions with industry on how to productionize the missile

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